LeBron James I PROMISE school opens today for the first time in Akron

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LeBron James’ I PROMISE School Opens Today In Akron, Ohio

LeBron James has worked tirelessly throughout his career off the court to help build up his community. He’s donated time, money, effort and his voice to numerous causes and often speaks about his own humble upbringing in relation to kids who also have obstacles to hurdle in order to get ahead.

Today, his quest to empower the future of America hits a remarkable milestone…

It has been more than a decade in the making, but today, the LeBron James Foundation opens the I PROMISE school in conjunction with Akron public school system.

The plan is to enroll at-risk youth, hundreds of them, who desperately need opportunities that education provides. According to ESPN, the goal is to have elementary age children to follow the program until graduate high school. If they do, James will see to it that they have free college tuition to the University of Akron. In addition, parents who do not have a high school diploma will be allowed to achieve one and get further education.

Never mind whatever sports fanatic grievances you have against LBJ, you gotta give it up for this move. This is big. REAL big. It’s easy to sell sneakers, sodas, car insurance, video games, but selling the idea that education is important and “cool”, that’s something to champion.

According to Cleveland.com, the inaugural class consists of 240 students, 3rd and 4th graders, who are under-performing in reading, math and other areas of academia. The curriculum at the school is largely STEM-based and will allow students to take a more active and hands-on approach to their learning.

This school will be a bit different that other public schools in that the hours of operation are 9am-5pm from July to May. Longer school days and longer school years will eliminate the downtime of summer break in which students tend to forget the things they just learned.

This innovative way to educate kids might become the blueprint for how public schools approach education in hopes to improving America as a whole.