LeBron James' 'I Promise' School Delivers Results For Underprivileged Students
A follow-up to last year's opening (video above) of the LeBron James' "I Promise" school in Akron, Ohio.
Students at the "I Promise" school have made astonishing strides in their learning in just one year. According to The New York Times,
Unlike other schools connected to celebrities, I Promise is not a charter school run by a private operator but a public school operated by the district. Its population is 60 percent black, 15 percent English-language learners and 29 percent special education students. Three-quarters of its families meet the low-income threshold to receive help from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
Its students went from scoring in the 1st percentile (1%) in reading to 9th (9%) or 14th (14%), depending on their grade. In math, they moved from 1st to 18th percentile (3rd grade) and 2nd to 30th percentile (4th grade) in one year. And the even better measure of their learning is their individual growth goals. Where do they start? What are their obstacles? What is a reasonable expectation for improvement over the course of an academic year, and how can a school best meet those goals? Well, sit down for this.