On April 4, nearly 50 AT&T employees and Queens Preparatory High School students took over PS 80 Thurgood Marshall elementary school’s 2nd-4th grade classes, introducing over 300 students to teach basic financial literacy concepts and good money management skills through free Junior Achievement economic education programs. The Queens Financial Literacy Education Take-Over event is part of Junior Achievement of New York’s (JA New York) April Financial Literacy Month awareness programming to highlight the importance of learning and practicing good financial knowledge and skills to establish and maintain healthy financial habits.

“Most schools and parents make great efforts to teach children how to read and write, but we don't always pay the same amount of attention to their financial literacy. As a result, few young people graduate high school or even college with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage their personal financial lives,“ said Joseph Peri, president of JA New York. “Corporate and community volunteers like AT&T employees and Queens Preparatory High School Heroes play a vital role in bridging the financial education gap in our schools and communities. We are grateful for their investment of time and resources to help future generations plan and prepare for economic security, social mobility and prosperity.”

"Learning basic financial literacy and money management skills at such a young age will better prepare students for success," said Tom DeVito, AT&T vice president and general manager for New York and New Jersey who also serves on the Board of JA New York. "AT&T is proud to sponsor and partner with JA New York to help bring economic education programs to elementary school students in New York City."

DeVito led a JA More Than Money class, teaching students about earning, spending, sharing, and saving money, and about businesses they can start, or jobs they can perform to earn money.

AT&T has long been a committed and passionate supporter of Junior Achievement’s mission to bring vital financial education programs to local high need schools and communities. AT&T corporate volunteers deliver the programs and serve as business volunteer role models for local students. They also raise moneythrough corporate sponsored bowl-a-thons to ensure that programs are cost-free to NYC and Long Island schools.

JA New York’s High School Hero program partners with local high schools to recruit and train youth volunteers who deliver JA programs to hard-to-reach outer-borough schools. High School Heroes are empowered to make a significant difference in the future economic well-being of their communities and serve as powerful role models and examples of responsible citizenship for younger children by:
    •    Exemplifying the importance of staying in school,
    •    Modeling civic involvement and community engagement
    •    Developing and strengthening personal leadership, communication, presentation and team-building skills
    •    Making a valuable investment in the future economic well-being of their communities by delivering lessons in money management and basic financial literacy skills
The high school students and AT&T are partnering with JA New York, a leading financial education organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Together they want to show that it’s never too young to begin learning how to make and manage money responsibly.