AT&T Foundation funds peer leadership and mentoring program
UNION CITY, N.J., April 6 /PRNewswire/ – The Princeton Center for Leadership Training, Inc., today announced the expansion of a program to transition 9th graders in the Union City school district. Funded by a $400,000 grant awarded over four years by the AT&T Foundation, the Princeton Center for Leadership Training will launch Peer Group Connection (PGC), a peer leadership program, and Achievement Mentoring, an individual mentoring program, at Union City High School. Some 1,440 freshmen will participate in the program. Students, educators, and AT&T representatives will hold a kick-off event to announce the initiative on April 6, 10-11 a.m., at Union City High School.
“Ensuring that young people graduate from high school is a step that prepares them for the future workforce,” said
J. Michael Schweder, President, AT&T New Jersey. “We’re pleased to support organizations throughout the state that motivate kids to stay in school and to strive to learn.”
The AT&T award is part of the company’s competitive High School Success grants and the company’s signature initiative, AT&T Aspire, which helps address high school success and workforce readiness.
“The Peer Group Connection program equips junior and senior students with leadership skills to provide team mentoring and yearlong support to ninth graders as they transition into a new environment. The skills gained from PGC provide a solid foundation for students to succeed both academically and socially,” said Dr.
Sharon Rose Powell, President, Princeton Center for Leadership Training. “By pairing PGC with Dr. Brenna Bry’s Achievement Mentoring program, students who need extra support will also benefit from individual mentoring by an adult.”
Stanley Sanger, Union City’s Superintendent of Schools, said, “The programs have made a real difference in the lives of our students, and we’re both pleased and honored that AT&T has chosen to fund the expansion of these innovative programs.”
The Princeton Center for Leadership Training has received one of the four AT&T High School Success grants in New Jersey that totaled more than $1.4M. Other New Jersey recipients include the Civic League of Greater New Brunswick; the Cumberland Empowerment Zone; and, Rutgers University Foundation/Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership.
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.
For more information about the AT&T Aspire initiative, please visit www.att.com/education-news.
About Princeton Center for Leadership Training
The Princeton Center for Leadership Training (PCLT) has a 20-year record of establishing long-term partnerships with schools and communities. PCLT has delivers leadership training in hundreds of schools and communities with educators from every county in New Jersey, as well as in twelve other states and countries. They work in urban, suburban, and rural settings, in public and private schools, and organizations. Additional information about PCLT, is available at http://www.princetonleadership.org.
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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.
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SOURCE AT&T Foundation
