Huffington Post Media Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Business and Journalism Leaders Share Expertise with
New York City Middle School Students

AOL’s Tim Armstrong and The Huffington Post Media Group’s Arianna Huffington Visit Brooklyn Middle School to Teach Journalism

New York, NY – March 16, 2011 – On Monday, March 14, Tim Armstrong, Chairman and CEO of AOL, and Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, visited the Urban Assembly Academy of Arts and Letters in Brooklyn to teach an afternoon class on journalism. The new business partners were connected to students through Citizen Schools, a national nonprofit organization that partners with public middle schools across the country to expand the learning day and brings professionals into the classroom to share hands-on learning experiences with students in low-income communities.

Students learned about quality local news and use local news headlines to represent their own communities and voices. As part of an “interview clinic,” students also had the chance to interview the media experts themselves.

The afternoon session kicked off a “30-Day Service Challenge” encouraging all AOL and Huffington Post employees worldwide to find ways to give back to their local communities. Employees will be volunteering in their local communities – from preparing food for people in need in Los Angeles to dancing with elderly nursing home residents in New York City.
Over the past few years, dozens of AOL employees have volunteered with Citizen Schools, teaching twelve-week “apprenticeship” courses to middle school students across New York City. Topics have included marketing and branding, robotics, journalism and cooking. Monday’s “mini-apprenticeship” will help expose even more AOL and Huffington Post employees to the opportunity to share expertise and passion with middle school students through Citizen Schools. In fact, Arianna Huffington has signed up to teach three more times in the coming months.

“Our class with 6th through 8th graders at Brooklyn’s Academy of Arts and Letters was inspiring, as the children showed an eagerness to learn and a hunger to engage,” said Arianna Huffington. “That’s why the work of Citizen Schools is so important. If given the opportunity to challenge themselves, even after the school day is over, schoolchildren will gladly take it. It’s my hope that all companies and organizations will work to expand such opportunities for children.”

“Citizen Schools is thrilled to welcome Tim Armstrong and Arianna Huffington to the classroom,” said Nitzan Pelman, Executive Director of Citizen Schools New York. “Working directly with experts from a wide range of fields helps our students connect what they are learning in school with the real world, sparks new interests, and inspires motivation for our students.”

About Citizen Schools
Citizen Schools is a national non-profit organization that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for low income children across the country. Citizen Schools uniquely mobilizes thousands of adult volunteers to help improve student achievement by teaching skill-building apprenticeships after school. The organization’s programs blend these real-world learning projects with rigorous academic and leadership development activities, preparing students in the middle grades for success in high school, college, the workforce, and civic life.

About AOL
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a leading global Web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide audience. AOL’s business spans online content, products and services that the company offers to consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL is focused on attracting and engaging consumers and providing valuable online advertising services on both AOL’s owned and operated properties and third-party websites. In addition, AOL operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as a valuable distribution channel for AOL’s consumer offerings.

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