St. Louis High Schoolers Get Free Phones, Cell Service -- THE Journal

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St. Louis High Schoolers Get Free Phones, Cell Service

By Dian Schaffhauser
09/30/19

High school students in St. Louis Public School District received free smartphones and wireless connectivity from wireless provider Sprint as part of the 1million Project. This was the third year in a row when students in the district participated in the program. In the latest round, 1,200 students received devices, which they were told, they could "keep for good."

Sprint first committed to providing wireless broadband connectivity for up to 50,000 low-income K-12 students across the country in 2014, as part of the Obama administration's ConnectEd initiative, a public and private effort to put technology into classrooms and into the hands of students and teachers.

The latest distribution took place at Carnahan High School of the Future. Students received Samsung Galaxy J3 Achieve phones, along with cellular service. The phones include hotspot functionality that enables students to get access to the internet from their computers at home too.

"Many of our students are dealing with multiple hardships that make studying and learning difficult in their home environment," said Lewis Reed, president of the Board of Aldermen, during the presentation. "What we're doing today, through this Sprint 1million project is working to close the homework gap for these kids."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

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