LeBron’s I Promise School Where “Nothing is given. Everything is earned.”

19Aug
by Leticia Chavez-Garcia

One year after opening, LeBron’s I Promise School is thriving. In just one year, ninety percent (90%) of the students at the LeBron James I Promise school are meeting or exceeding individual growth goal, outpacing students across Akron, Ohio.

90% of I Promise students who met their goals exceeded the 70% of students districtwide, and scored in the 99th growth percentile of the evaluation association’s school norms, which the district said showed that students’ test scores increased at a higher rate than 99 out of 100 schools nationally.

The Akron based school opened last July. The school initially took in only students that we designated at high risk. I Promise School is a public elementary school supported by the LeBron James Family Foundation. The inaugural class consists of 3rd and 4th graders. The school hopes to continue growing.  It currently consists of 240 students, but the plan is to make the school fully operational with enhanced grade levels by the 2022 school year. 

So how did the LeBron James I Promise School have this kind of success? And can this be duplicated around the country? This model can be duplicated. We know which schools need a reboot, so why not restart some of our lowest performing schools using the I Promise School Model?

Give kids a space to be successful. Provide them with great teachers who look like them and can relate to them. Help their parents better themselves. Feed them. And finally…promise them a future. As you can see, they will show up for it.

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

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