Sprint Achievement Program Selects 106 Kansas City-Area Educators for 2006 Grants

Program’s three-year contribution to local K-12 education to total more than 1 million dollars

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — 07/05/2006, Sprint (NYSE: S) announces this year’s recipients for the Sprint Achievement Program, a community program through which Sprint provides annual grants to Greater Kansas City-area K-12 educators.

In 2006, Sprint will provide 106 grants totaling more than $370,000 and ranging from $500 to $5,000 per grant. This year’s grants will bring the program’s three-year total contribution to more than 1 million dollars. Grants will be distributed to schools across the Kansas City area with the highest number going to the Kansas City, Kan., school district, which will receive more than 20 grants. To view a complete list of this year’s recipients, please visit www.sprint.com/community/education.

“Sprint’s commitment to K-12 education is making a difference in our communities,” said Ralph Reid, Sprint’s vice president of corporate social responsibility and executive director of the Sprint Foundation. “Educators, parents and students are benefiting from the resources that Sprint continues to provide.”

Created in 2004 by working closely with area superintendents, the Sprint Achievement Program supports classroom-based projects that increase student achievement, provide enriched development opportunities for educators, and encourage family involvement in the student’s education.

Sprint recognizes that education isn’t “one size fits all” and designed the Sprint Achievement Program with this in mind. Sprint considers area educators the experts when it comes to what will improve achievement in their specific students. By reviewing and approving grants tailored to individual schools and classrooms, the Sprint Achievement Program is able to directly address areas of need for students, educators and families.

“The Sprint Achievement Program empowers our teachers,” said Nicole King, principal at Scuola Vita Nuova, a Kansas City, Mo., charter school that has been awarded Sprint Achievement Program grants in the past and has been selected for 2006 funding as well. “The program recognizes smart thinking and teaching, and the money goes immediately to the classrooms – rather than getting tied up in a bureaucracy. The program has an immediate impact.”

Educators applied for 2006 grants in April, and each grant was reviewed by a third-party committee representing a cross-selection of education stakeholders familiar with current curriculum development and learning resources needs. The grants will be distributed in August, when most area schools start back in session, and are to be used during the 2006-2007 school year. At the end of the school year, educators are required to provide a results report to be considered for future grants.

The Sprint Achievement Program is directly tied to Sprint’s ongoing support of community activities in the Greater Kansas City area. In 2004, Sprint Chief Executive Officer Gary Forsee committed $20 million dollars to the region, to be given out over a three-year period with nearly a third of the funding ($6 million dollars) to be used for K-12 education.

To learn more about the Sprint Achievement Program and Sprint’s other community initiatives, please visit www.sprint.com/community. To learn more about Sprint’s overall role in the Kansas City community, please visit www.sprint.com/kansascity.

About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of communications services bringing mobility to consumer, business and government customers. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two robust wireless networks offering industry leading mobile data services; instant national and international walkie-talkie capabilities; and an award-winning and global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

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