I Promise School
Former administration building of Akron Public Schools[1]
Address
400 West Market Street

Akron
,
(Akron Public Schools)
,
Ohio
44303

United States
Coordinates41°05′29″N 81°31′51″W / 41.0912517°N 81.53095659999997°W / 41.0912517; -81.53095659999997
Information
TypePublic
Motto"We Are Family"
Established2018
PrincipalBrandi Davis
Grades1 – 8
Enrollment240[2]
Color(s)Black and white
   
WebsiteOfficial website

I Promise School[3] (IPS) is a public elementary school in Akron, Ohio. Opened in 2018, it is supported by the LeBron James Family Foundation and specifically aimed at at-risk children. Opening with students attending grades three and four, the school became fully operational in 2022, teaching grades one through eight.[2]

In April 2020, a documentary series titled I Promise was released on the streaming service Quibi, detailing the school's first year of operations.[4][5] The series was cancelled due to Quibi's shutdown in October 2020.

Background

In 2011, head of the foundation and professional basketball player LeBron James was researching the high school dropout rate of his hometown Akron and decided upon review to create the "I PROMISE" initiative, focused on supporting the youth in his childhood community. In November 2017, the Foundation expressed to the Akron school board their desire to create a school that aims to assist disadvantaged children with their studies. The plans were approved later that month and subsequent development of the school was initiated.[6]

James, having grown up in Akron, struggled as a student due to unstable conditions at home. His mother was unsuccessful in finding a permanent job, forcing the family to move multiple times.[6] During this time, James was absent for 83 days in fourth grade, resulting in a substantial lack of education. His upbringing served as a motivation to provide future generations of children with similar backgrounds with special support and care.[7]

James considers the school's founding as the most important professional accomplishment of his life.[8] The LeBron James Family Foundation is funding additional services for the children and families attending IPS. Some of these services include uniforms, food for families, career placement services, bikes and helmets for each student, transportation for qualified individuals, and GEDs and job placement services for parents according to Akron School District spokesman Mark Williamson.[9]

Free tuition to the University of Akron for every graduating student is covered under the pre-existing Akron I Promise Network Scholarship, which was developed between the University of Akron, the LeBron James Family Foundation, and JPMorgan Chase in 2015.[10] To qualify, Akron public school students must graduate high school with a minimum 3.0 grade point average.[11] Additionally, the University of Akron provides eligible Akron Public School graduates full tuition under the separate Innovation Generation Scholarship.[12][13] The Foundation has contributed an estimated $2 million in start up costs, though the number will change annually based on community needs.[9][11] Students are selected based on test scores and other metrics and criteria, then placed in a lottery system.

Before the opening of IPS, the I Promise program had been in Akron elementary schools for more than 10 years. There are 32 elementary schools in the Akron Public School system and children from all those schools will now be in one location rather than spread across all of them.[14] Prior to 2018, the IPS building had housed students in the school system that were displaced by schools which were being rebuilt.

The Akron School District will bear more than half of the costs once it is fully running. I Promise will eventually cost about $8 million a year to run out of the district's regular budget, covered mostly by shifting students, teachers, and money from other schools, the district says.[15]

Student body

The school is divided into "I Promise Elementary" and "I Promise Secondary", respectively teaching students from grade one to four up to grade eight.[16] As of the first day of school on July 30, 2018, 240 students are attending grades three and four. The school is set to feature grades one and two by the following year and eventually all grades by 2022.[7][17] The school is housed in the former Akron Public Schools' administration building and remains part of the Akron School District. Teachers are still on the district's payroll and curriculum is developed according to public school requirements.

The school deploys a STEM-based curriculum. "The Family Resource Center" and the school's "family plan" are aimed at the students' families to ensure a stable learning experience at home. Deviating from traditional timetables, school days last from eight to five. Summer vacation is shortened significantly and shorter breaks are scattered throughout the year instead.[17]

After tests administered by the Northwest Evaluation Association, The New York Times reported that roughly 90% of its 240 inaugural students either met or exceeded their expected learning goals in both math and reading, making the school the district's most successful. Initially scoring in the lowest one-percentile in both fields, third and fourth graders respectively rose to the ninth and 16th percentile in reading, and to the 18th and 30th percentile in math. By the end of the school year, the school proved to be among the fastest growing performance-wise nationwide.[18][19]

Criticism

In 2018, annual costs of the school reportedly amounted to $8 million, which were by some perceived to be a burden on taxpayers living in the comparatively low-income school district.[20] Parents who meet the criteria to enroll their children at the school but were unable to do so due to the school's lottery system were especially frustrated at the tax increase.[21]

In July 2023, the school came under the scrutiny of the Ohio Department of Education for its deficient performance in the state's math and English tests. None of the eighth grade students for the 2023–2024 school year tested proficient in math in the previous three years, and in the preceding year only 8% of I Promise students tested proficient in English.[22][23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mc Kenna, John (September 12, 2019). "The I Promise School, Is Keeping Its Promise". fourgoods.co. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  2. 1 2 Dator, James (July 30, 2018). "LeBron James opened a public school in Akron for at-risk kids". SBNation. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 20, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  3. ↑ "I Promise School profile at Akron Public Schools". Akron Public Schools. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  4. ↑ Medina, Mark (April 6, 2020). "LeBron James' 'I Promise' documentary series debuts Monday on Quibi". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 10, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  5. ↑ Washington, Jesse (April 6, 2020). "LeBron's new documentary tells the story of his I Promise School in Akron". Andscape. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  6. 1 2 "LeBron James Biography". JockBio.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  7. 1 2 Zillgitt, Jeff (July 30, 2018). "LeBron James opens new public school in Akron: 'One of the greatest moments' of his life". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 27, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  8. ↑ Singer, Michael (November 30, 2017). "LeBron James: Opening school is my most important professional accomplishment". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 24, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Lybrand, Holmes (August 9, 2018). "Fact Check: Is the 'Lion's Share' of the New LeBron Affiliated Public School Covered by the Taxpayer?". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  10. ↑ Farkas, Karen (August 14, 2015). "University of Akron's pledge to offer free ride to Akron students similar to one made three years ago". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "LeBron James' big gamble on a big idea for kids in Akron: Brent Larkin". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  12. ↑ "University of Akron aims to offer free tuition to qualified graduates of Akron schools". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Akron Public Schools' Innovation Generation Scholarship (IGS)". www.uakron.edu. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  14. ↑ Taylor-Wynn, Heaven (August 9, 2018). "LeBron James's Akron school won't cost taxpayers more money". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
  15. ↑ O' Donnell, Patrick (August 7, 2018). "Who's paying for LeBron James' new I Promise school? LeBron or Akron Public Schools?". Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Official website of LeBron James Family Foundation". Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  17. 1 2 Lindsay, Maria (July 26, 2018). "I PROMISE School focused on success for students, families". Akron.com. Leader Publications. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  18. ↑ Green, Erica L. (April 12, 2019). "LeBron James Opened a School That Was Considered an Experiment. It's Showing Promise". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  19. ↑ Cordner, Jason (April 12, 2019). "SOURCE SPORTS: LeBron James' "I Pomise School" is Exceeding Expectations in its First Year of Operations". The Source. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  20. ↑ O'Donnell, Patrick (August 7, 2018). "Who's paying for LeBron James' new I Promise school? LeBron or Akron Public Schools?". Cleveland.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  21. ↑ Dimon, Melissa (January 29, 2019). "Here's Everything LeBron James' 'I promise' School Will Offer". UniversityMagazine.ca. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Promises kept? Akron school board questions I Promise School's poor test scores". www.beaconjournal.com. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  23. ↑ Poiner, Jessica (August 7, 2023). "An in-depth analysis of the I Promise School's troubling academic results". The Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
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