• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

AT&T Awards $150,000 to Communities in Schools of Georgia for Initiatives to Increase Graduation Rates

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 September 2007, 15:00 CDT

ATLANTA, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T Inc. has announced a $150,000 educational grant to Communities in Schools (CIS) of Georgia. The organization is the largest dropout-prevention organization and connects community resources to help students stay in school and prepare for life.

The grant from the AT&T Foundation, the corporate philanthropy organization of AT&T Inc., will assist in the expansion of CIS's learning centers across Georgia. CIS of Georgia has 50 local affiliates and 29 performance learning centers (PLCs) in Georgia that provide services to nearly 100,000 students across 67 school systems. Key programs include the PLCs, mentoring, tutoring, parent education, literacy, youth leadership, after-school programs and training for the state's graduation coach programs.

"CIS of Georgia offers the business community a unique opportunity to work collaboratively with the state in addressing the specific needs of Georgia's kids within their own communities," said Sylvia Anderson, president of AT&T Georgia. "We are proud to be a part of that effort."

CIS and AT&T Georgia honored students, educators and businesses with an interest in public education at the inaugural CIS Georgia Education Ball: Broadway Salutes Georgia's Kids at the Georgia World Congress Center, which was held Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007.

"Communities in Schools plays an important role in partnership with the governor's office and the Georgia Department of Education to increase graduation rates in Georgia," said Gov. Sonny Perdue. "Meaningful initiatives such as our new middle school and high school graduation coaches and performance learning centers are helping thousands of families each year. We have made great strides in the past five years raising our graduation rates more than eight percentage points, but we can -- and will -- do even better. We have a moral obligation to see that our kids have every opportunity to graduate from high school, and this donation marks a distinct opportunity to come together and expand this effort to significantly raise Georgia's graduation rates."

Through 50 local affiliate organizations, CIS of Georgia provides or coordinates services that address some of the reasons why students leave school without a diploma. CIS helps improve student achievement and implements a community-based, integrated student-services strategy to leverage community resources in the schools at which they are needed to improve student achievement. The design often includes a PLC, where students benefit from a 1-15 teacher-student ratio, increased attention to the students' academic and nonacademic needs, and a self-paced learning environment. Through strong partnerships with 27 local school systems and communities, more than 1,800 students have graduated since the inception of the program in 2002.

More than 1,000 child advocates from throughout the country will visit Atlanta in November to mark the 30th anniversary of CIS as a national organization. "We look forward to the conference and serving as the host city for CIS National," said Neil Shorthouse, president, CIS of Georgia. "Those who attend will have a chance to hear best practices and share the latest results from dropout-prevention research."

Note: This AT&T release and other news announcements are available as part of an RSS feed at http://www.att.com/rss.

About Communities in Schools of Georgia

Communities In Schools is the nation's leading community-based organization helping kids succeed in school and prepare for life. In Georgia, CIS reaches nearly 100,000 students in 66 school systems. Key program areas include Performance Learning Centers(R), mentoring, parent education, literacy, technology and youth leadership development. Communities sponsoring CIS programs have seen an increase in their high school graduation rates, a decrease in violence and disruptions, and an increase in attendance and academic achievement. For more information about CIS, visit http://www.cisga.org/.

About Philanthropy at AT&T

AT&T Inc. is 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. In 2006, AT&T contributed more than $101 million through corporate-, employee- and AT&T Foundation -giving programs. AT&T and the AT&T Foundation, the corporate philanthropy organization of AT&T, combine more than $1.8 billion of historic charitable commitment to communities across the country.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. 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 and the nation's leading wireless, 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 its three-screen integration strategy, AT&T is expanding its TV entertainment offerings. 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/.

(C) 2007 AT&T Knowledge Ventures. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Knowledge Ventures. For more information, please review this announcement in the AT&T newsroom at http://www.att.com/newsroom.

AT&T Inc.

CONTACT: Terri Denard of AT&T Inc., +1-205-714-0777,terri.denard@att.com

Web site: http://www.att.com/http://www.cisga.org/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

More News in this Category