LeBron James is facing tough questions about his I Promise School’s proficiency test scores. None of the 8th graders at his school have passed a state math exam for 3 years in a row.
James, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, opened the school in his home town of Akron, Ohio in 2018.
The school was partly funded by the LeBron James Family Foundation, major corporations, and local and state funding.
In 2018, James said the school’s mission was to transform the lives of at-risk students and parents in his hometown.
The inaugural class of 240 at-risk third and fourth graders received:
Despite the massive funding and perks, the students are now testing in the bottom 5% in the state.
Akron Public School board member Valerie McKitrick was shocked by the news. “Not one? In three years?”
“It is discouraging,” said Keith Liechty-Clifford, the district’s director of school improvement.
The Ohio Department of Education will now intervene at the school to help raise the test scores.
