I Promise School's population is 60% black, 15% English-language learners and 29% special education studentsGETTY IMAGES
LeBron James' I Promise School in Akron, his "biggest foray into educational philosophy," had its inaugural classes of third and fourth graders post "extraordinary results in their first set of district assessments," according to a front-page piece by Erica Green of the N.Y. TIMES. While the academic "results are early, and at 240, the sample size of students is small," 90% of the third and fourth graders "met or exceeded individual growth goals in reading and math, outpacing their peers across the district." James said, "People are going to finally understand what goes on behind our doors." The I Promise school is "not a charter school run by a private operator but a public school operated by the district," and the school's population is 60% black, 15% English-language learners and 29% special education students. I Promise is "unusual in the resources and attention it devotes to parents, which educators consider a key to its success." James' foundation "covers the cost of all expenses in the school's family resource center, which provides parents with GED preparation, work advice, health and legal services, and even a quarterly barbershop." James, who has visited the school twice this year, said, "I had the vision of wanting to give back to my community. The people around every day are helping that vision come to life" (N.Y. TIMES, 4/13).
