By Shiann Smith

LeBron James has recently been in the news for something other than his basketball skills. His school, the “I Promise School,” has been making strides. Back in 2011 James created the “I promise” initiative to support the youth in his community. The school is separated into “I Promise Elementary” and “I Promise Secondary," Together, the school covers grades one through four. The school was approved for development in 2017 and has since then opened in July of 2018. The school is seen as an “experimental” one with high expectations, but also came with a lot of criticism. The annual cost alone is $8 million, much to tax payer’s dismay. And even if parents qualified to put their children in the school most do not win the lottery system, even with the tax increase. It’s unique programs and structure has been confused with a charter school.

Not all is bad, though. For example, the foundation offers free tuition to the University of Akron for every graduated student. And even more recently, the school has found its way into headlines for their amazing results on tests. In academic growth, the test showed that 90 percent of I Promise students who started the school year one and two years behind their grade level have already met or exceeded expected growth in math and reading. The district report said, “The current test data show as a whole third- and fourth-grade students at I Promise are increasing their reading achievement levels and are moving closer to being on grade level.”

The school is definitely showing promise for the children of Akron, Ohio. Maybe repeated positive results are enough to push for more schools like I Promise all over the country.