It’s kind of hard to get on LeBron James for ignoring certain social issues, when he’s doing so much for the city of Akron.
James and his foundation — according to USA Today — are teaming up with Akron Public Schools to create a new public school called the I Promise School.
The school will educate students like those who are part of James’ foundation: “Students who are at-risk in reading and who are in need of additional academic intervention before falling further behind their peers,” according to the news release.
“This school is so important to me because our vision is to create a place for the kids in Akron who need it most – those that could fall through the cracks if we don’t do something,” James said in a statement. “We’ve learned over the years what works and what motivates them, and now we can bring all of that together in one place along with the right resources and experts. If we get to them early enough, we can hopefully keep them on the right track to a bigger and brighter future for themselves and their families.”
“We are excited about the potential of the I Promise School to provide specialized programming and invaluable resources for our students,” Akron Public Schools superintendent David James said in the news release. “We’ve seen the positive influence of the LeBron James Family Foundation on our students and we look forward to continuing to do everything we can to put our students in a position to be successful.”
The school scheduled to open the fall of 2018 — will start with third and fourth grades — before expanding to first and second in the fall of 2019.
By 2022, the school will open to students in grades one through eight.
I Promise students will be chosen by a random lottery system.
