LeBron James has the “jitters” for his first day at school

3X NBA champion LeBron James will fulfill a dream on Monday, July 30, when he opens his first elementary school for academically at-risk students in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

Building on the LeBron James’ Family Foundation's mission to give back to the community, the I Promise school will serve 240 of the Akron Public School district's most academically challenged 3rd and 4th graders who are at-risk of falling between the cracks in the regular public school system.

Like a proud dad, LeBron will stand in front of the schoolhouse doors to welcome the students on their first day at their new school on Monday.

Students were chosen at random from a pool of underachievers who scored low marks on aptitude tests in the Akron public school system.

While LeBron is in Los Angeles chasing a 4th NBA championship ring, he is committed to dropping in to check on the students' progress throughout the school year.

The I Promise school will offer students a more individualized academic curriculum to help them catch up to their peers. The school will have smaller classrooms (20 students per class compared to 34 per class in other public schools) and longer days to keep students off the streets.

Although the elementary school currently accepts two age groups, the program plans to accept more age groups over the next few years.

The 6-foot-8 L.A. Lakers power forward, pictured with his former head coach Tyrone Lue, couldn't contain his excitement in a series of social media posts.

"The jitters before the first day of school are real right now!!!" he tweeted 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... for the kids in Akron to give them everything they could need to find their passion, give back to our community and change the world!! This school is that. The people are that. Akron is that. @LJFamFoundation we've always done it big... and it doesn't get bigger than opening day tomorrow (until the next thing we dream of) I'm so unbelievably proud and excited to see my kids, my home, and the 330 tomorrow. THANK YOU! Let's get it. Let’s go @IPROMISESchool #WeAreFamily #IPROMISE".

 

Photos by Ethan Miller/Getty Images, Jason Miller/Getty Images, Twitter.com/LJFamFoundation

  • Fire & Ice

    Oh wow this is phenomenal! Hoping for nothing but the best for this school.

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1lo6u-UIbo Nancy Drew-Natural & Luv’n It!

    AWESOME.??

  • iWasteTime

    This is so dope!
    For all those folks that say "You know what he/she could have done with all that money" ... he did it!

  • Judi Jupiter

    This is wonderful...

  • INDUSTRY GURU

    He is giving back in a real life changing way to the community he came from. Where are the "Billionaire" rappers at? , and what have they done for their community.

  • Blaque Mahogany

    Yay!!!

    I am so excited for him and the children. I was involved with a charter school for about five years. Running a school is difficult on its own and even more challenging when you are targeting at risk children. Unfortunately, most lack foundational knowledge and you have to have really good resources (teachers, tutors, technology, data, etc.), or your school will be shut down for under performance.

  • Mia Said so

    I'M SO IN TEARS RIGHT NOW.. MY GOD MAY GOD KEEP THAT SCHOOL SAFE AND SOUND..SO HE WILL NOT JUST SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE..

  • Ebony Starr

    Great!!!!

  • WhoKnew

    That is what's up! Super excited for these kids and I'm praying for them to succeed. What a great way to start the day with some positivity in this world! Thank you, Jesus and thank you Bron Bron and the LJ Fam Foundation.

  • BrownIsBack

    If only the others would follow suit. I have a serious soft spot for children and the homeless

  • Doink_Ahanahue

    People can say what they want about LbJ but he's shown that overall he's a good dude. He's done quite a bit to be proud of and continues to do so

  • SummerBaby

    This is fantastic! ??

  • what?why

    34 in a classroom - why is this okay? Dear God

  • Toni Toni Toni

    I so agree. I cant see how folks can fix their face to say anything negative about the brotha.

    He gets my respect!

  • Kanyade

    this is making me smile. bless the teachers, students, staff, administrators, lunch ladies, Cletus and the Custodial Cats,etc. what a wonderful thing to do.

  • Yoni7

    Way to go, Lebron! Almighty bless! I pray that others see it fit to follow suit. Start a movement. I wish each and every person that has some kind of touch to that school, has a success story because of it.

  • Trace da Ace

    Great!!

  • Waya Hedia

    How is this funded over the coming years?

  • We Can Do This

    A giant step for an equally giant person.

    I hope the kids parents step up to work on their kids educational development as well.

    Hopefully the program succeeds and grows so the blueprint can be used in other school districts facing similar problems.

    Salute to King James!

  • Logan Roberts

    Love ?Lebron, doing big & unselfish things. Go fellow Capricorn.

  • Beverly Johnson

    Team Kobe till I die, but you gotta give it up to LeBron 3-6, this is huge!!!!!

  • http://sandrarose.com SandraRose

    Obama could have done this for Black communities. But he was more concerned with putting boys in girls' restrooms in schools. ?

  • Anunnaki

    All smiles, how wonderful. ????????

  • KcoolMuziq

    LeBron(whom I worked with in a Nike commercial) is a over achiever.

  • We Can Do This

    You're absolutely right!

  • Stationarity

    It shouldn’t be ok for anybodies school. I am a firm believer that if people, government, cities really wanted to fix education they would decrease the standard classroom limits from 32 kids to 24. It would make a HUGE impact.

  • Stationarity

    What exactly do you feel Obama could have done?

  • KcoolMuziq

    Rumor has it that Kobe may briefly come back...

  • KLove

    I'm not really a big fan of Lebron as a player (and he is an awesome player), but he is one celeb that I can say actually puts his money where his mouth is, and actually gives back and makes a difference in his community. I generally pay celebs no mind when they try to spout off about politics, but Lebron gets a pass from me, because he actually tries to deliver solutions instead of just whining about problems all the time.

  • Applebootay

    ??????Good Guy.

  • Oretta Grace Smith

    Beautiful

  • Chaseboogie The Prince

    I don't care how many rings this man get or don't get, he has always tried to do right by his community. I gotta give him props for that.

  • Shawty

    Good for him to give back to the community! I just wish he did it silently and that way the people won't think he did it for publicity.

  • what?why

    Key phrase here "huge impact" … but then the masses would be in power.

  • supastar

    Where is Laura Ingraham and Fox News?? Oh, this is good news.

  • Kayke

    This is awesome!!

  • Dowoop

    Don't think he needs any more publicity but the school could always use more publicity so that people who don't know about it can step up and donate towards it. What better way to draw big donors than with a big name.

    And I am not even a fan!!

  • Dowoop

    Which commercial was it. I want to go look up the credits and see if I can figure out who you are.

  • Shawty

    Ok that makes sense. I just don't understand the folks that claim they doing it for the people but have camera crews filming it. Noooo you doing it for the publicity. One person I can think of that donates a lot of money but NEVER speaks on it is Carmelo Anthony. He does a lot but we never hear about it. I'm sure others do as well but he is who comes to mind when this subject comes up.

  • Enoughsaid2020

    This is great! Congratulations!

  • Coy little wink
  • Readytochokemothernatureout

    Love that he did that and the second picture gives me the sads still...

  • Dowoop

    True.. There's no shame in saying you are doing it for your legacy.

  • Isignedup4this

    I’m with you a thousand percent. This deserves publicity. This wasn’t some act of kindness. He’s making the legends look bad... at least I think so.

  • T3

    People can argue who is better between LeBron and Kobe/Jordan til they're blue in the face! This right here makes him the ?. This is what matters. This is what counts. I wouldn't care if he never makes another basket. Salute!

  • chris
  • chris

    Respect my brotha

  • KcoolMuziq

    A Nike commercial that also involved Lil Wayne..