Source: Jack Arent / Getty
When asked about the ‘I Promise’ elementary school he founded in Akron, Ohio, LeBron James said it’s the most important thing he’s ever done as a professional.
“Besides having three kids and marrying my wife and putting my mom in a position where she never has to worry about anything again for the rest of her life, this is right up there,” James told the press Thursday.
“I know because I was those kids and I walked those streets. (I thought), ‘There’s no way I’ll make it out of this situation.'”
James added that championships, awards and statistical accomplishments are “whatever” when compared to the real life issues.
Read more about James’ plans for the school after the jump.
The LeBron James Family Foundation plans to open the I Promise School this fall to at-risk third- and fourth-graders thrive in the Akron Public Schools system.
Cleveland.com reports:
The Akron school board unanimously approved the James foundation’s plan this week, and James’ entertainment company will produce a documentary on the school’s opening.
James’ mission with his foundation since 2010 has been to improve reading skills and eventually graduation rates for children in Akron Public Schools who faced the same challenges he did growing up.
Many of the children who are mentored in James’ foundation live in Akron’s inner city. They may come from single-parent households and face various social and economic barriers to learning.
Those children and their families have received counseling, educational tutoring, and after-school programming through James’ foundation. He incentivizes participation through personal outreach (such as letters, robo calls, and in-person appearances) and occasional gifts from his sponsors, such as Nike and Samsung, and every summer he takes the entire program (students and families) to Cedar Point.
Beginning in 2021, students in James’ mentoring program who graduate from an Akron public high school can get a scholarship to attend the University of Akron for free.
“We’re gonna give them everything that they need and give them a criteria that they all can meet, depending on the individual,” James said.
Classes at the I Promise School will start in the summer, weeks before most Akron Public schools open, and the school days will go longer. That’s because, in part, the children in James’ program (and those who will be attending school) often come from environments where they could find trouble when the school day is over, or may not find nutritious meals at home.
Those two issues — poor nutrition and unsupervised afternoons — are often cited as barriers to education in the inner city.
James’ foundation has assembled a team of educational advisers to help establish the school, and this week the school board heard from high-performing students who serve as mentors in James’ program (they’re called “330 Ambassadors”) about their experiences.
