Program Is Part of $100 Million AT&T Aspire Initiative to Promote High School Success and Workforce Readiness

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today announced it is awarding more than $730,000 in AT&T Foundation grants to eight Los Angeles-area educational institutions to support high school retention programs for at-risk students

The grants are part of the company's signature initiative, AT&T Aspire, which was announced earlier this year to help 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.

As part of the Aspire initiative, the AT&T Foundation has committed $29 million in High School success grants to more than 170 schools and nonprofit organizations. Statewide, AT&T is awarding 35 grants totaling more than $3.5 million.

America's Promise Alliance, the nation's largest multi-sector collaborative dedicated to the well-being of children and youth, has noted that nearly one-third of U.S. high school students drop out before graduating -- with about 7,000 students dropping out every school day, or one every 26 seconds.

'High school dropout rates are a serious issue affecting more than 1 million students in this country each year,' said Denita Willoughby, vice president, AT&T External Affairs - Los Angeles. 'We're committed to supporting the great work our educators are already doing in our local communities to help kids succeed by preparing them for a global economy. We are lending a hand to build and expand these programs, and we are gratified by the response to the program and look forward to working with these groups to build a brighter future for our youth.'

Local recipients of these grants are:

Los Angeles Urban League -- $100,000 to support the Algebra 1 Summer Institute for at-risk 9th graders and a rigorous Mathematical Thinking professional development program for 9th grade Algebra I teachers at Crenshaw High School within Los Angeles Unified School District.

UNITE-LA, Inc.