Sprint : An Open Letter to Participating 1Million Project School Districts

Dear 1Million Project Foundation School Districts,

With the impact of COVID-19 continuing to unfold across the U.S., many of our partner school districts are closing school doors and preparing contingency plans that include remote learning options. As districts consider moving to an online teaching and learning environment for the remainder of the school year to help mitigate the spread of the virus, students who lack home internet access are at an even greater risk of falling behind.

During the past three years, in partnership with 246 districts across 35 states, the 1Million Project Foundation has connected 350,000 high school students with 10 GB of free monthly high-speed wireless data and devices.

While COVID-19 puts an important (yet unfortunate) spotlight on the Homework Gap issue, the 1Million Project Foundation is committed to supporting our partner districts and is taking these additional steps in light of today's pandemic.

• Thanks to Sprint's generosity, we are doubling the data allotment from 10 GB to 20 GB per month through June 30, 2020.

• While we have limited inventory remaining at this time, we will be allocating these additional devices to districts that are immediately implementing remote learning in order to help support their e-learning plans.

• Lastly, we are working to accelerate the receipt of more than 100,000 new mobile hotspot devices that are allocated for the 2020-21 school year in the hopes of getting them into the hands of eligible high school students sooner.

We hope these additional actions help support district's contingency plans without further exacerbating the already prevalent digital inequality gap in our society. Together, we can help ensure high school students have the necessary connectivity needed to continue their learning during these uncertain times.

Sincerely,
Doug Michelman
President, 1Million Project