Akron’s public schools have a major problem; its at-risk students are falling well behind the rest of the K-12 population in the classroom. The question the district faces now is whether LeBron James can fix that.
What We Know:
- James’ I Promise School opened Monday to serve low-income and at-risk students in his hometown, and the public school could be an agent of change in the eastern Ohio city.
- The institution is the intersection of James’ philanthropic Family Foundation and the I Promise Network he helped kickstart.
- I Promise began as an Akron-based non-profit aimed at boosting achievement for younger students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
- The ‘movement’ has the means to educate these students year-round.
- I Promise is building fro a model that’s show success
- I Promise is a regular public school, not a charter or a voucher-receiving private school
- I Promise is starting in the middle and expanding outward. The school opened Monday with 240 students spread over two grades — third and fourth. From there, it will add second and fifth grades in 2019 and then expand to a first through eighth grade lineup (there are no current plans to offer kindergarten) by 2022.
- I Promise is going above and beyond to address the non-academic issues that affect classroom performance.
We’re excited about this new school and wish the students and community of Akron much success!
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