The LeBron James Family Foundation hopes to help 1,200 children enter college by 2029
LeBron James may have skipped college, but thanks to the I Promise School – a joint project between his foundation and Akron Public Schools that opens Monday – thousands of students from his home town won’t have to.
The school, which is the product of a decade’s worth of work, is focused on helping Akron students from difficult backgrounds who qualify based on socioeconomic and performance factors. By 2022, the school hopes to teach students from first through eighth grade, but on Monday, it was just 240 third and fourth graders who were on-hand for its opening.
The school has a longer school day and a longer school year, which is why it’s opening in July, but those who complete it will be offered free tuition to the University of Akron, starting in 2021.
‘The jitters before the first day of school are real right now!!!’ James wrote on Twitter on Sunday. ‘Tomorrow is going to be one of the greatest moments (if not the greatest) of my life when we open the #IPROMISE School. This skinny kid from Akron who missed 83 days of school in the 4th grade had big dreams…’
The I Promise School, which is the product of a decade’s worth of work, is focused on helping Akron students from difficult backgrounds who qualify based on socioeconomic and performance factors. By 2022, the school hopes to teach students from first through eighth grade, but Monday, it was just 240 third and fourth graders who were on-hand for its opening
Students who complete the I Promise Program will have the chance to attend Akron University for free beginning in 2021. James insists that ‘Akron will always be’ his home
The I Promise School has been in the works for a decade, but its doors finally opened Monday
A local gutter-cleaning business, Leaf Filter, purchased school supplies at the I Promise School
It was in the fourth grade when James’s mother allowed him to move in with a local family, the Walkers, who offered him a more stable living situation while she continued searching for steady work.
According to ESPN, James went from missing 83 days as a fourth grader to having perfect attendance in fifth grade.
‘LeBron missed a lot of school in the fourth grade. It’s well-documented,’ Michele Campbell, the executive director of James’ foundation, told USA Today. ‘We all know which path he took. He took the right path with some very good people around him and now we know him as the world’s best basketball player. He could’ve taken the other road, and we would’ve never known LeBron James. He would’ve been a statistic like a lot of students who drop out of school.
‘Every one of these kids, maybe they don’t become LeBron James on the basketball court, but they become the LeBron James of their passion and dream in life. We’re coming to them at a time when people came to LeBron and Gloria and wrapped around them and believed in them before he was this great basketball player.’
Not only has James donated millions personally through his foundation, but he’s also worked to secure sponsorships for the program, which currently boasts 40 staff members.
The goal is to help 1,200 children enter college by 2029, but the work of the LeBron James Family Foundation won’t stop there. The organization hopes to help the parents of at-risk children, by helping them get a high school education. Another program from James’s foundation will help high schoolers prepare for the increased workload of college.
‘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 last year. ‘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.’
James, who recently signed a four-year, $154 million deal to join the Los Angeles Lakers, skipped college and was selected first overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. He has since won three NBA titles and four NBA MVP awards. Most recently, he and the Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for the third time in the last four years.
James admitted to having the jitters on Sunday, a day before his school finally opened
James, who recently signed a four-year, $154 million deal to join the Los Angeles Lakers, skipped college and was selected first overall in the 2003 NBA Draft. He has since won three NBA titles and four NBA MVP awards. Most recently, he and the Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals for the third time in the last four years
The I Promise School has been in the works for nearly a decade. Along the way, James met with former First Lady Michelle Obama in 2016. The school helps to get 1,200 children into college
The the two-time Olympic gold medalists has found a number of ways to raise money for the school, including an online memorabilia auction, hosted by Upper Deck.
Fans had the chance to buy half of a game-worn pair of James’s size-15 Nikes, with proceeds going towards to the school.
The other half of those pairs are already decorating the school itself, along the the two massive, curved staircases in the foyer.
The school also has murals of James, Jesse Owens, Martin Luther King Jr., Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson.
According to Ohio.com, some of the intriguing features are a teacher’s lounge referred to as ‘the locker room,’ a personal trainer, who works with staff members twice a week, and a pantry where parents can grab a few items, donated from a local food bank, to cook for their kids.
James’s mother, Gloria, also has an office at the school.