Junior Achievement: JA and Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber help Appleton and Neenah students experience the benefits of staying in school

For more information, contact:

Nicole Schanen, AT&T Wisconsin

414-390-4846

nicole.schanen@att.com

Vicki Kessler, Junior Achievement Program Manager

920-882-0773

vkessler@jawis.org

Job Shadowing event includes meeting with Rep. Bernard Schaber

APPLETON, Wis., December 3, 2009 – On November 17th, Appleton and Neenah high school students learned about the importance of staying in school from state legislator Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber and local AT&T employees as part of a Junior Achievement (JA) job shadowing event. Rep. Bernard Schaber met with approximately 35 students from Appleton Xavier High School and Neenah High School during the day’s program and spoke with them about her work in the Wisconsin State Legislature and the importance of doing well in school.

Building on the program’s success and positive student impact, students went back to work with AT&T employees as part of the initiative’s second year in the Appleton area. Students participating in the AT&T / JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative “shadowed” AT&T employees during their regular work day to see firsthand the educational background and skills they will need to succeed on the job.

“Based on the tremendous success of last year’s Job Shadow event we are committed to helping future generations in Wisconsin by showing them the importance of staying in school,” said Scott T. VanderSanden, AT&T Wisconsin State President. “We’re proud to join with Rep. Bernard Schaber in her mission to ensure that the young people in our state receive the best possible education.”

“If they are to succeed in the workplace, our children must first receive the skills they need to excel in the classroom,” said Rep. Bernard Shaw. “I truly enjoyed my time with the students during this worthy program, and I am hopeful that they took away many valuable lessons from the experience.”

Thirty-five students shadowed AT&T employees on November 17th in Appleton. Recent findings from a report evaluating students who participated in the first year of the AT&T / JA Worldwide Job Shadow Initiative show the program is making an impact and changing attitudes about staying in school: * All students felt that it is important to graduate from high school, and ninety-nine percent felt confident in their ability to do so months after participating in the program. * Eighty-nine percent of students felt that participating in Job Shadow made them realize the importance of staying in school. * Ninety-four percent indicated that they had improved their ability to set goals as a result of Job Shadow and 90 percent reported that they utilized this skill months after the program. * Ninety-four percent agreed that their ability to identify occupations that interest them had improved as a result of Job Shadow and ninety-two percent had researched careers that interest them months after the program.

Jack E. Kosakowski, president of Junior Achievement USA, noted, “Job shadowing not only provides students with valuable firsthand workplace experience, it provides them with mentoring and role models. These experiences help prepare our young people to effectively compete with their peers from the U.S. and around the world as the global economy becomes increasingly interdependent and interconnected.”

Many of the students dropping out of high school are dropping out despite the fact they have passing grades. They simply don’t see the relevance of their school work today to their future life success.

That’s why the $5.5 million Job Shadow initiative is a key pillar of the AT&T Aspire program, one of the largest-ever corporate commitments to high school retention and workforce readiness. It provides a chance for students to explore potential future careers and connect classroom lessons to real life opportunities.

The initiative is committed to reaching 100,000 high school students over 5 years. During the 2008-2009 school year, over 13,000 students in over 100 cities participated in the initiative.

Find More Information Online:

Web Site Links:

AT&T Web Site <http://www.att.com/>

About the AT&T Foundation <http://www.att.com/gen/corporate-citizenship?pid=7736>

Junior Achievement Web Site <http://www.ja.org/>

Junior Achievement Local Office Site

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About Philanthropy at AT&T

For 25 years, AT&T and the AT&T Foundation have been committed to advancing education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its philanthropic initiatives and partnerships, AT&T supports projects that create learning opportunities; promote academic and economic achievement; and address community needs. As the AT&T Foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2009, more than $160 million was contributed through corporate-, employee- and AT&T Foundation-giving programs in 2008 alone.

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About Junior Achievement(r) (JA)

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 131 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional five million students served by operations in 123 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit http://www.ja.org <http://www.ja.org/> .