Students in more than 1,300 high schools across
32 states will receive a free device and free wireless service in
first year of the program
As the new school year begins across the country, 180,000
low-income high school students will receive the equipment and
connectivity they need to complete their schoolwork from home as
part of the 1Million Project. The Sprint Foundation, with support
from Sprint (NYSE:S), announced that the first year of the
initiative, kicking off Aug. 15, will include more than 1,300
schools across 32 states providing 180,000 students with free
devices and wireless service for up to four years while in high
school. During the course of the 5-year program, up to 1 million
high schoolers who lack internet access at home will join the
1Million Project, helping to level the playing field and eliminate
the “Homework Gap.”
This Smart News Release features multimedia.
View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170814005275/en/
The 1Million Project in Year 1 (Photo:
Business Wire)
Seventy percent of America’s high school teachers assign
homework that requires online connectivity, yet more than 5 million
families with school-aged students do not have internet
connectivity at home.1 These students face an enormous challenge in
trying to complete their homework from home, search for jobs, apply
to college and financial aid, or easily access the valuable
information they need to succeed in school and life.
“Sprint is uniquely positioned to help make a difference in
these kids’ lives immediately and on a massive level, and that’s
exactly what we’re doing,” said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure. “In less
than a year, we’ve gone from conceiving and piloting the 1Million
Project to implementing it in order to help hundreds of thousands
of high school students across the country this school year.”
Some of the country’s largest school districts will participate
in the first year of the 1Million Project during the 2017-18 school
year, including:
- New York City Department of Education
(NY)
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools
(FL)
- Los Angeles Unified School District
(CA)
- Chicago Public Schools (IL)
- Phoenix Union High School District 210
(AZ)
- DeKalb County School District (GA)
- Baltimore City Public Schools (MD)
- Newark Public Schools (NJ)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (NC)
- Oakland Unified School District
(CA)
- Broward County Public Schools (FL)
See the full list of all participating schools and school
districts, as well as images and video content.
“For today’s schoolchildren, smartphones are an essential tool
for classroom performance, helping students with everything from
communicating with teachers and counselors via email to conducting
research for assignments and compiling reports and presentations,”
said Richard Buery, deputy mayor for New York City. “As a city
that lives on-the-go, the investment of 30,000 smartphone devices
will be invaluable to students attending community schools and will
help us achieve equity and excellence in the classroom by leveling
the playing field on academic achievement. We thank Sprint for
their partnership and for addressing the homework gap with the
1Million Project.”
“Not having access to the internet at home not only impacts
students, but it also hinders parents’ ability to communicate with
teachers and build a partnership with their child’s educators,”
said Pedro Noguera, distinguished professor of Education in the
Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences at UCLA and
director of the Center for the Study of School Transformation.
“Ultimately, not having access to the internet is an obstacle to
opportunity – learning, jobs, college, and contributing to society
at a high-level.”
“Homework is very difficult to do without any internet at home,
so I used to spend countless hours in the computer labs at school
or walking to my aunt’s house to finish all of my assignments,”
said Marleni, a 1Million Project pilot participant and recent
graduate from Garey High School in Pomona, California. “With my
hotspot from the 1Million Project, I actually didn’t have to worry
about where to go after school, and could get home at a reasonable
time and do my homework in my room. I was able to finish high
school with tunnel vision on the work I needed to complete, and am
now moving on to college to pursue my goals.”
Each student participating in the 1Million Project will receive
either a free smartphone, tablet or hotspot device and 3GB of
high-speed LTE data per month for up to four years while they are
in a participating high school. Unlimited data is available at 2G
speeds if usage exceeds 3GB in a month. Those who receive a
smartphone can use it as a hotspot.
To address the homework gap on such a large scale, Sprint
piloted the program with 3,750 high school students in 10 markets
in January 2017 through the end of the last school year. Lessons
learned at the local level helped to prepare for the national
rollout this fall. In a survey of students who participated in the
pilot, 86 percent said the 1Million Project improved their attitude
toward learning and school and helped them do their homework in a
comfortable, convenient and safe place. Looking forward, 82 percent
of students said the program positively affected the likelihood
that they will persist and graduate from high school. And, 80
percent said it improved the likelihood that they will continue on
to college.
Schools or districts that want to apply for the second year of
the 1Million Project, which begins with the 2018-19 school year,
can visit www.sprint.com/1millionproject to learn more. Applicants
will receive a response by spring 2018.
“Not every student in our country has the equal opportunity to
thrive and grow,” said Doug Michelman, president of the 1Million
Project. “We are committed to doing our part to level the playing
field for all those high school students in need who want to work
hard to achieve their goals. As you might imagine, supporting 1
million students during the next five years is a significant
undertaking. Sprint is donating wireless service, and the Sprint
Foundation is working closely with our device suppliers, and we are
very thankful for their generous contributions. But, without the
help of generous donors, we can’t meet our goal to help students
reach their potential, do great things and fulfill their
dreams.”
During the past year, Sprint has worked with non-profit
agencies, including EveryoneOn and My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, to
identify cities and school districts with the greatest need and to
develop academic enrichment and measurement components of the
program.
Sprint is donating approximately $2.16 billion in wireless
service2, technical support and staff to oversee the 1Million
Project for five years. The majority of devices for the first year
of the program have been donated to the Sprint Foundation by
generous vendors, including TCT Mobile US (Alcatel), American
Network Solutions, LLC (ANS), Franklin Wireless, LG Electronics
MobileComm USA, Motorola Mobility LLC and ZTE USA Inc.
Anyone looking to support the program can visit
www.sprint.com/give1mp to make a donation via credit card.2 Sprint
stores continue to accept monetary and device donations.3 Used
mobile devices can also be donated online. Devices will be recycled
or resold with net proceeds benefiting the 1Million Project. Visit
www.sprint.com/1millionproject for more information, and follow and
support the program on social media by using the hashtag
#1MillionProject.
About The Sprint Foundation
Since its establishment in 1989, the Sprint Foundation (the
philanthropic arm of Sprint) has provided millions of dollars to
community organizations across the country. A separate legal entity
from Sprint, the Sprint Foundation has made a huge impact by
supporting hundreds of organizations each year that focus on
education, arts and culture, youth development, community
development, and disaster relief.
During 2016, the Sprint Foundation, in partnership with Sprint,
launched a new signature program, the 1Million Project, to help
close the “Homework Gap” by providing free devices and free
high-speed internet connectivity to 1 million low-income high
school students (across five years) who lack home access to the
internet. The Sprint Foundation will support the 1Million Project
by purchasing new devices (smartphones, tablets, hotspots),
providing educational resources, administering the program, and
funding program training for eligible high school students.
About Sprint
Sprint (NYSE:S) is a communications services company
that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to
the things they care about most. Sprint served 53.7 million
connections as of June 30, 2017, and is widely recognized for
developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies,
including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in
the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin
Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national
and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1
Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past five years.
You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or
www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
1The Pew Research Center
(http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/20/the-numbers-behind-the-broadband-homework-gap/).2
Includes retail value of wireless service cost if all 1 million
high school students remain in the program for four years.3 Cash
donations for the 1Million Project are tax-deductible charitable
contributions to the Sprint Foundation.4 Device donations are not
tax-deductible. Net proceeds from reselling/recycling donated
devices or $1 per device, whichever is greater, will be donated to
the program.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170814005275/en/
SprintLisa Belot, 913-315-5730lisa.belot@sprint.com
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