Mayor Stoney, Sprint and Richmond Public Schools Announce Free Device and Wireless Service Program

Today at George Wythe High School, Mayor Levar M. Stoney joined Sprint Regional President Brian Hedlund, Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Interim Superintendent Thomas Kranz and RPS School Board Chair Dawn Page to announce RPS participation in the first year of the Sprint and the Sprint Foundation’s 1Million Project. The program will provide participating RPS high school students will receive free devices with free wireless service.

“Through the 1Million Project, we will begin to bridge the technology divide that puts our kids at a disadvantage when they go home to do their school work and don’t have access to the online resources they need,” said Mayor Stoney. “If we want our children to succeed, if we want them to compete and build a brighter future, we need to give them the tools to do so, and we must connect them to opportunity.”


Nationwide, about 70 percent of high school teachers assign homework to be completed online, yet more than 5 million families with kids do not have internet access at home. Sprint created the 1Million Project to help close the Homework Gap by providing 1 million free devices to high school students over the next 5 years.


“Having access to technology can be the bridge to academic success for many high school students,” said Brian Hedlund, Sprint President for the D.C., Maryland and Virginia Region. “Our goal with the 1Million Project is to help close the homework gap that exists for some of our youth in Richmond. These devices and internet service will provide academic opportunities that extend well beyond their classroom doors.”


Richmond Public Schools is one of 118 school districts (over 180,000 students in 1,300 schools) participating across the country. Sprint will be giving 1,050 RPS students a free wireless internet capable device and wireless service while in high school for up to 4 years. 



"Richmond Public Schools is pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Sprint on this initiative to increase our efforts in providing equitable educational opportunities for our students," said Interim Superintendent Thomas Kranz. "We appreciate the support of the mayor and the City of Richmond in helping us to level the 'learning field' and eliminate the homework gap by ensuring that our students who do not have internet access at home receive these devices as an additional learning resource. This collaborative partnership will positively impact the academic success of our students." 



"On behalf of the school board, I would like to thank our school administration for their hard work in coordinating this effort as well as Mayor Stoney for his continuous support of Richmond Public Schools," said School Board Chair Dawn Page. "It takes all of us -- our city leadership, our school board, our school administration and partners like Sprint all working together to make a real difference in the lives of our students."


For more information on the Sprint 1Million Project, contact Roni Singleton, Eronia.Singleton@sprint.com or call 703-929-3655.

For information regarding RPS student participation, contact Kenita Bowers, kbowers@rvaschools.net or call 804-780-7100.