Reports coming out of Akron, Ohio, indicate that not a single eighth-grade student at the LeBron James “I Promise” school has passed the state math exam in the last three years. Ironically, the “I Promise” school is struggling to uphold its own end of the promise it made to parents and the state to educate the children that enter its classrooms.
The school opened in 2018 with the mission of giving an otherwise unachievable learning opportunity to at-risk youths in the Akron area. Now, just five years later, many are questioning what the school and its administration have been doing since its inception. There was been plenty of time to begin seeing results in test scores, yet no improvements are being seen.
The school’s website flaunts its connection to James, who stars as a player on the Los Angeles Lakers. The website says, “All of the LeBron James Family Foundation’s work is rolled into the I PROMISE School, an Akron Public School dedicated to those students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks.”
James is clearly hoping that this school will leave behind a legacy long after his playing career is finished. In a piece about James’ generosity to the school, the website says, “As one of this generation’s greatest athletes, LeBron James has channeled his global reach, influence and passion into positively impacting the lives of those around him. With education as the driving force of change, the LeBron James Family Foundation is not only spreading that impact and improving lives of inner-city students and families, but also shifting the course of anentire community.”
The school boasts that its efforts have “culminated in the groundbreaking new public school – the I Promise School – that is taking an innovative approach to providing a challenging, supportive, and life-changing education, creating a new model for urban public education.”
Akron school board president Derek Hall seemed much less enthused about the “I Promise” school when asked about the most recent failing in test scores at LeBron’s institution. “For me as a board member, I just think about all the resources that we’re providing,” Hall said. “And I just, I’m just disappointed that I don’t think, it doesn’t appear like we’re seeing the kind of change that we would expect to see.”
James is yet to release a public comment on the matter and it is unlikely that he will anytime soon as the family continues to support his son Bronny who suffered a cardiac arrest at basketball practice at USC.
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Following Bronny’s health scare, a James family spokesperson released the following. “Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest. Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information.”