As students return to school, all eyes are focused on NBA basketball star LeBron James’ I Promise School in Ohio that feeds and educates for free 240 at-risk inner-city children.
You may like or hate the former Cleveland Cavaliers now Los Angeles Lakers star, but at the end of the day he stepped up to the court and using more than $8 million of his own money provided an outlet for success for kids in his hometown of Akron.
Jubilant residents of the hard-hit city are delighted as their vulnerable 3rd and 4th-Graders will no long have to walk the streets and be exposed to gangs and crime.
The school, a project of the LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron Public Schools, provides students with a slew of awesome perks; which includes free tuition, uniforms, breakfast, lunch and snacks, transportation, bicycle and helmet and more importantly, access to a food pantry for their families.
The students who graduate will be guaranteed tuition to attend the University of Akron. All they have to do is show up and study. Their parents also have access to higher learning.
James was a problem student when growing up and missed months of classes as a result. Education remained important to him and he was driven by a mission to help kids overcome what he faced as a low-income student growing up in the ‘Rubber Capital of the World.’
“The jitters before the first day of school are real right now!!! Tomorrow is going to be one of the greatest moments (if not the greatest) of my life when we open the #IPROMISE School,” James said in a Tweet.
“This skinny kid from Akron who missed 83 days of school in the 4th grade had big dreams…”
He recalled skipping school for months as he and his mom moved from one couch or spare room to another thanks to friends and family members. He credits mentors, some of whom he met at school, for helping him to turn his life around so he attended every day of 5th Grade, the first year he played organized basketball.
James, who has won three NBA championships and four league-MVPs, called the school opening the greatest moment of his career.
“Walking these hallways and seeing, when I was driving here, just the streets that I walked, some of the stores are still up when I was growing up,” he told ESPN. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
The school’s curriculum was crafted with the help of Akron County educators, who say they’ve long seen their students underperforming in the classroom. There will be a focus on hands-on education, with an emphasis on developing problem-solving skills, according to the school’s website.
Students will also have a later start time for school days and more staggered breaks in order to promote year-round education.
The NBA champion has become increasingly active in social issues in recent years, often speaking out against instances of racism and other forms of inequality. He said that for him, this school is an opportunity to create change.
“For kids in general, all they want to know is that someone cares. And when they walk through that door I hope they know that someone cares,” he said recalling his early days.
Some 43 staffers will help run the I Promise School, including teachers, a principal, four intervention specialists, a tutor, English as a second language teacher, music instructor and gym teacher.
Other famous Black celebrities as Sean “Diddy” Combs, ESPN analysist Jalen Rose and a few others have also put their names and millions in funding schools for at-risk youths in the U.S.
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