The Fort Worth ISD and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce join forces to present this annual recognition event honoring Distinguished Employers of Fort Worth Teens, companies that agree to adopt best practices to help students balance work and school so they can graduate. 79 participating area employers in 343 locations employ more than 2,000 students.

 View a full list of the 79 Distinguished Employers is here.

When: Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012,  8:30-9:30 a.m. 
(No mult box available; one-on-one interviews may be conducted afterward.)

Where: TCU’s Dee Kelly Alumni & Visitor Center, 2820 Stadium Dr., 76109

Who: Recognizing the Employers will be: Walter Dansby, FWISD superintendent, Bill Thornton, Fort Worth Chamber president & CEO, Ann Rice, United Way of Tarrant Co. EVP and COO, Dr. Mike West, Executive Director of UT Arlington, Fort Worth Center

Why:  In short, to help stem the dropout rate. More than 25% of Fort Worth ISD teens work in part-time or summer jobs providing those students with great opportunities for learning important life skills, hands-on experience and income. Striking a balance between ensuring sufficient time for school attendance, studies and appropriate work experiences is difficult. This sometimes makes successful teen employment and high school completion impossible.

Distinguished Employers of Fort Worth Teens agree to adopt practices and incentives that not only insist on school attendance as a condition of employment, but also take an active interest in a student employee’s classroom performance. Additional information about this program is available at http://www.fortworthchamber.com/education/distinguished-employers-of-teens/

Community partners are: Fort Worth Chambers of Commerce, the Fort Worth ISD, Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber, Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber, United Way of Tarrant County, the City of Fort Worth and Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County.