The telecom giant announced Monday morning in San Francisco that it is donating $250 million nationwide for dropout prevention programs. In California, 1-in-5 students drops out of school. It is one out of every three among African American students.
AT&T says the grant is an investment in the company's own future. "To ensure that we're able to have the kind of qualified skilled workforce that's going to be able to sustain the jobs and become the workplace of the future," said Ken McNeely, president of AT&T California.
In 2008, AT&T handed out $100 million in dropout prevention grants.
San Francisco's Gateway High School used some of the funds to teach organization and note-taking skills to freshmen so they would be better prepared for college.
