AT&T Awards Nearly $500,000 for Workforce Readiness, Student Success in Washington,...

AT&T Awards Nearly $500,000 for Workforce Readiness, Student Success in
Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, May 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As part of AT&T's* ongoing
commitment to investing in America and helping students stay - and succeed -
in school and on the job, J. Michael Schweder, president of AT&T Mid Atlantic
today joined educators, students and community leaders from Washington, DC to
announce $395,000 in grants to programs that will help address high school
success, postsecondary education preparedness and success, and workforce
readiness for Washington, DC's students. The event was held at Ballou Senior
High School.

Jobs for America's Graduates - District of Columbia, Inc. (JAG-DC) will
receive $360,000 over four years to support the Jobs for America's Graduates
model at Ballou Senior High to provide transition services to about 200
at-risk youth. Communities In Schools of the Nation's Capital (CISNCAP)
received $35,000 to support a new Graduation Coach pilot program.

"Our country's ability to compete depends on having a well-educated citizenry.
For that to happen, we all must work to keep kids in school and equip them
with the tools they will need for success," said Schweder. "And that's what
we're doing here today - bringing together community partners in Washington,
DC to help put students - and our country - on a path to prosperity and
success."

Francie Glendening, CEO of JAG-DC agreed and added: "In the final analysis, we
help students become the architects of their personal and academic lives,
transforming them into change agents actively engaged in the world. The
futures of the students we serve are inextricably linked with the future of
our country. AT&T should be commended for recognizing the importance of this
work and investing in it."

"Communities In Schools of the Nation's Capital is grateful for AT&T's support
of the Graduation Coach program at Ballou High. Our goals are the same: help
underserved students so they can graduate on time and prepared for life," said
Tobeka G. Green, CISNCAP's executive director. "Together we can make a
difference in the lives of these important young people."

In addition to the High School Success grants announced today, the Latin
American Youth Center in Washington, DC also received a $95,585 grant from
AT&T to support its dropout-prevention and workforce readiness programs. A
separate event highlighting this program is tentatively planned for later this
month.

The grants are part of the AT&T Foundation's signature initiative, AT&T
Aspire, which helps address high school success and workforce readiness. AT&T
has committed $100 million in philanthropy through 2011 to schools and
nonprofit organizations that are focused on high school retention and better
preparing students for college and the workforce. The two recipients are among
more than 170 schools and nonprofit organizations that received grants in the
first year of the program.

The recipients of this year's High School Success grants provide a range of
support for students, including academic intervention, academic coaching and
mentoring and tutoring services that are focused on improving reading and math
skills, reducing truancy and building teen confidence. The recipient programs
are managed by a variety of governmental and nonprofit organizations,
including school districts, townships and education-serving nonprofit
organizations.

As one of the largest-ever corporate commitments to high school retention and
workforce readiness, the $100 million AT&T Aspire program supports proven
programs that promote educational success, from the classroom to the
workplace. In addition to the high school retention program grants, AT&T
Aspire is funding initiatives in three key areas:

-- A student job shadowing initiative involving 400,000 AT&T employee
hours that will give 100,000 students a firsthand look at the skills
they will need to succeed in the 21st century workforce.
-- The underwriting of national research that will explore the
practitioner
perspective (teachers, principals, superintendents, school counselors
and school board members) on the high school dropout issue.
-- Support for 100 state and community dropout prevention summits across
the country.

All told, in 2008, AT&T and its employees contributed more than $2 million
through corporate, employee and AT&T Foundation giving programs in Washington,
DC.

For more information about the AT&T Aspire initiative, please visit
www.att.com/education-news.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and
affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its
subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of
AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings
are the world's most advanced IP-based business communications services, the
nation's fastest 3G network and the best wireless coverage worldwide, and the
nation's leading high speed Internet access and voice services. In domestic
markets, AT&T is known for the directory publishing and advertising sales
leadership of its Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations, and the AT&T
brand is licensed to innovators in such fields as communications equipment. As
part of their three-screen integration strategy, AT&T operating companies are
expanding their TV entertainment offerings. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1
in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE(R) magazine's list of the
World's Most Admired Companies. Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the
products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is
available at http://www.att.com.

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.

(C) 2009 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo
and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual
Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.

SOURCE AT&T Inc.

Dan Langan, +1-717-571-1743, dan@langanpublicaffairs.com, for AT&T; or Frances
Hughes Glendening of Jobs For America's Graduates-DC, +1-202-580-6550,
fglendening@jag-dc.org; or Elizabeth Gardner, for Communities In Schools of
the Nation's Capital, +1-804-761-5440, development@cisnationscapital.org