LeBron James is a philanthropist as we have never seen before. One reported statistic reveals that he donated over $100 million to charities through the LeBron James Foundation. Besides giving back to the underprivileged, James is also a firm believer in representing and uplifting his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
LeBron James returned to his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 with only one purpose in mind. Accomplish what he couldn’t previously, the first championship in franchise history. In 2016, he was victorious, and his ultimate purpose was fulfilled but James didn’t stop there.
He founded the ‘I Promise School’ on July 30th of 2018. The school refers to itself as “An Akron Public School dedicated to those students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks.”
The initiative to build a school that specially focuses on at-risk students has been applauded many times over, however, it seems that the school itself may not be producing adequate academic results over the past few years.
The I Promise school will welcome a new principal this fall
LeBron James founded the school to help below-par students in the Akron area have a safe and enriching environment to study in. So far the school has succeeded in one of its endeavors.
Besides being heavily guarded, the school provides students with free uniforms, free breakfast, lunch, and snacks, free transportation within two miles, free bicycles and helmets, and access to a food pantry for their families. Additionally, any student who graduates will have their college tuition guaranteed by the University of Akron.
All of this costs the Akron local area taxpayers around $8 million a year, although that figure will be covered mostly by shifting students, teachers, and money from other schools.
Akron Public School Board members are outraged with Lebron James “I Promise” school in Akron, Ohio after it was reported that the school hasn’t had one student from its 8th grade class pass a state math test in over 3 years. pic.twitter.com/Fr31MMEsQt
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) July 30, 2023
Philanthropy aside, it seems the school hasn’t been meeting its academic quotas for the past few years. Reports reveal that its current eighth-grade class has not had a single student pass the state mathematics test, since the third grade. The school caters to children with disabilities and minorities, however, this level of academic irregularity is alarming.
School board president Derrick Hall commented saying, “For me as a board member, I just think about all the resources that we’re providing 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.”
It’s unclear at the moment whether this dip in studies is due to incompetent teachers or the students themselves, but the school’s solution looks to be a faculty rebrand. The school is set to welcome a new principal, one who can hopefully bring in a new regime of excellence in all facets of the school.