OAN’s Noah Herring
1:40 PM – Monday, July 31, 2023
LeBron James’s “I Promise School” has reportedly produced disappointing results, as no eighth grader at the institution has been able to pass the state’s basic math exam in over 3 years.
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The I Promise School, which is partly funded by LeBron himself, opened in 2018 as a public school for 1st graders through 8th graders in Akron, Ohio, LeBron’s hometown.
The school was started with a mission to help “those students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks,” according to its website.
The school, which operates in conjunction with the LeBron James Family Foundation, has not seen one student in its fall eighth-grade cohort pass the Ohio state math test since the third grade, according to Akron Beacon Journal.
“The state has also issued its first concern about the school: two of I Promise’s biggest subgroups of students, black students and those with disabilities, are now testing in the bottom 5% in the state, landing the school on the Ohio Department of Education’s list of those requiring targeted intervention,” the Journal added.
The students’ poor performance has caused major disappointment among Akron Public Schools officials.
School board president Derrick Hall also expressed his concerns regarding the school’s failing test scores.
“For me as a board member, I just think about all the resources that we’re providing,” Hall said. “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.”
The Lebron James Family Foundation released a statement on Monday stating that they were still committed to its “partnership with Akron Public School for the long haul.”
“Because this work requires a long-term commitment, hard work, and a lot of love and care. And that’s what we bring each and every day because the I Promise School is more than a school. We’re here for the ups and downs, and will continue to wraparound our students and their entire families so they can be successful in school and in life, no matter the challenges and obstacles that come their way,” the statement read.
The I Promise school will reportedly shift leadership roles as a new principle is scheduled to come in and take over for the fall school session.
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