National Academy Foundation and Kelly Services, Inc Partner to Increase Career Opportunities for High School Students

It takes a community to educate a student. At the National Academy Foundation (NAF), it takes partnerships with the business community to ensure that students are well-prepared for college and future careers. With this in mind, Kelly Services has emerged as a pivotal partner in providing real world experience to high school students and teachers involved in NAF’s network of career academies.

Since 2008, Kelly Services has partnered with NAF’s information technology and engineering academies across NAF’s network, providing grants, scholarships, and expertise to both students and teachers.  Between 2008 and 2009, Kelly Services representatives served on local Advisory Boards, volunteered in classrooms, arranged field trips, and conducted mock interviews for academy students.  Over 6,000 students were supported by volunteers in two years.  On a national level, Tim McAward, vice president, Americas Product Group, Engineering, Kelly Services, serves on NAF’s national steering committee.

“The support of corporations like Kelly Services is essential to the success of NAF academies across the United States,” said JD Hoye, president of NAF. “Through our partnership with Kelly Services, NAF is able to fulfill its commitment of preparing young people for college and careers.”

This year, three schools will receive the Kelly Engineering Resources grant: A.J. Moore Academy in Waco, Texas; Hialeah Gardens High School in Florida; and Zebulon B. Vance High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Each school’s Academy of Engineering will receive $2,500 to implement projects that will increase equity and accessibility of engineering programs to academy students. Two $2,500 Kelly Information Technology Resources Scholarships will be awarded to Academy of Information Technology students from Thomas S. Wootton High School in Maryland and the Atlantic Technical Magnet High School in Miami/Fort Lauderdale for their continued studies in IT.

“NAF’s focus on providing real world experiences to high school students is well aligned with Kelly’s mission,” said Steve Armstrong, senior vice president and general manager, Kelly Services.  “Investing in today’s students strengthens tomorrow’s workforce.”
 
About the National Academy Foundation

The National Academy Foundation (NAF) is an acclaimed network of career-themed Academies that open doors for underserved high school students to viable careers. For nearly 30 years, NAF has refined a proven model that provides young people access to industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals.  NAF academies focus on one of four career themes: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, and engineering. Employees of more than 2,500 companies volunteer in classrooms, act as mentors, engage NAF students in paid internships, and serve on local Advisory Boards. During the 2009-10 school year, 500 NAF academies served more than 53,000 students across 41 states and D.C. NAF’s national graduation rate of 90% testifies to the effectiveness this effort. Visit www.naf.org.

About Kelly Services

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) is a leader in providing workforce solutions. Kelly offers a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing on a temporary, temporary-to-hire and direct hire basis. Serving clients around the globe, Kelly provides employment to 480,000 employees annually. Revenue in 2009 was $4.3 billion. Visit www.kellyservices.com.
 

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