Bay Area Employers to Host 8,000 Student Shadows On National Groundhog Job Shadow Day.

Business Editors/Education Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2000

&uot;Nationwide job shadowing event to provide students a road map for a

brighter future&uot;

This Groundhog Day, February 2, Bay Area businesses will open their doors to shadows of a different sort--students eager to experience firsthand the world of work. Local schools and school-to-career partnerships have matched 8,000 students with over 200 employers for a day of job shadowing. The activities are part of the third annual National Groundhog Job Shadow Day, an event that will pair one million students with workplace mentors for an up close look at thousands of career choices.

Student will learn from professionals across the nine county area. Highlights of the Day include:

-    8 students tending the elephants and koalas as they shadow zoo
     keepers at the San Francisco Zoo.

-    20 students creating store displays and ads at Macy's in San
     Francisco.

-    20 students learning how to run a major league team from the
     Oakland A's.

-    200 students from the California School for the Deaf shadowing
     the US Coast Guard, high tech companies and others.

-    Numerous public officials hosting students, including San
     Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, Assembly Member Kerry Mazzoni, San
     Leandro Mayor Sheila Young, and Robert Schwab, Director of San
     Mateo County Human Services Agency.

-    Other corporate participants include Bank of America, Intel,
     Mattel Interactive, Kaiser and SGI.

With thousands of Bay Area jobs going unfilled because of a lack of skilled employees, and schools constantly being challenged to achieve better test results for students, job shadowing represents one way to demonstrate to children the link between learning and earning.

Groundhog Job Shadow Day is spearheaded by Junior Achievement, America's Promise &The Alliance for Youth, the National School-to-Work Office, the American Society of Association Executives, and Bay Area School-to-Career Partnerships. To schedule an interview, contact Junior Achievement at [phone], the Bay Area School-to-Career Action Network at [phone], or visit the Junior Achievement website at www.jaba.org.