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Sprint To Invest ‘$576,000’ For Pomana Students’ Free Broadband Connection



09/09/2015

Sprint has made announcement that it will help hundreds of Pomana students with free broadband connections.


Dailycsr.com – 08 September 2015 – On the 3rd of September 2015 Sprint got into a “four-year commitment” whereby it will supply “free broadband connectivity” to three hundred students of the “School of Extended Educational Options” which is situated in the Unified School District of Pomona California. The connection type would be the “high-speed LTE broadband service” which will enable the students to be in touch “through a Wi-Fi hotspot” even they are at home. The entire project will be valued at the estimated amount of “$576,000”.
 

The superintendent of “Pomona Unified School District”, Richard Martinez earned the recognition from White House as a “trailblazer in the world of digital education”, who remarks:

“This partnership is a novel approach to ensuring that the learning that takes place in the classrooms continues at home by making technology and Internet accessible to our unconnected students. I want to thank Sprint for partnering with Pomona Unified to help us reach our goal of supporting student learning through innovative strategies.”
 

Under the initiative of White House, titled ConnectED, Sprint promised of providing wireless broadband connectivity to “50,000 low-income K-12 students” from all over the states. The ConnectED has been a collaborative effort of public and private sectors which sought to bring technology into classrooms whereby teachers and students alike can work towards bridging the “digital divide”. The S.E.E.O is among the first schools to join the online education venture with Sprint.
 

For a long time Sprint has been “supporting initiatives” using innovative services, devices and technologies which has the potential to “enhance educational opportunities”. High speed broadband connection can introduce more engaging and rigorous classes to the students through “new learning resources, rich visualizations of complex concepts, and instruction in foreign language”. The director of Sprint’s ConnectED program, Jim Spillane says:

“Digital literacy is more important than ever to produce the future leaders of tomorrow. Students are at a significant disadvantage without access to the Internet, and Sprint is proud to provide the technology these students need to access the most current educational resources and to achieve their highest educational potential.”
 

The S.E.E.O is a seventh to twelfth grade charter school, which has a “demanding academic program” covering various grounds like “language arts, math, science and history, world languages, and leadership”. However, majority of students at S.E.E.O do not have any internet connection at home, consequently, their field of opportunity regarding completing assignments, researching “next-level learning” and applying for job gets limited. It has a ratio of fifty five percent of students who “qualify” to receive “free” or “reduced lunch” while another twenty five percent are “English learners”. In fact, the principal of S.E.E.O Tom Sweeney remarks:

"SEEO is extremely grateful for Sprint's generosity and for this opportunity to give our students the digital access they desperately need. These services provide our students an enhanced educational experience and a foundation for greater opportunities when they leave this school and pursue careers.”




References:
http://www.businesswire.com