LeBron James’ I Promise School Responds To Reports That None Of Their Eighth Graders Have Passed State Math Exams In Three Years: ‘We Believe Our Students Are More Than A Test Score’

LeBron James’ I Promise School Responds To Reports That None Of Their Eighth Graders Have Passed State Math Exams In Three Years: ‘We Believe Our Students Are More Than A Test Score’

Unfortunately, NBA phenomenon LeBron James’ promise doesn’t necessarily look like it’s being fulfilled outside of the court.

According to board officials, students of the LeBron James-backed public institution, I Promise School, are severely behind in academics.

LeBron James

Based in LeBron James’ hometown, Akron, Ohio, the learning facility launched in 2018, with a mission to:

“positively affect the lives of children and young adults through education and co-curricular educational initiatives.”

The LeBron James Family Foundation funds the establishment in conjunction with Akron Public Schools, which sole purpose is to target the betterment of underachieving children and prevent them from “falling through the cracks” scholastically.

However, in a now-viral meeting, APS administrators revealed that of all current eighth graders, not one has excelled in the math portion of Ohio’s proficiency exam since the 2018/2019 school year.

Official building of the I Promise School

When speaking of the controversial concern surrounding the failing youngsters, Victoria McGee, senior director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, told an outlet,

“We believe our students are more than a test score. Yes, [our students] come to us and they are behind, and we do our best. And we have some strategic things that we’re putting in place to help our students move along the way. So, we’re excited.”

Raving about the new leader that I PROMISE has acquired in replacement of its previous head, Tawanna Hamm, she continued:

“One of the major changes that we have is we have new leadership here, and we have a principal that we are so excited about. The experience, the knowledge, and expertise that [Stephanie Davis] brings to I Promise School is just simply amazing.”

LeBron James

In addition to Victoria McGee’s sentiments, the organization, along with key chair members of I Promise, released a collective statement, which read:

“When we started this work to wraparound students through education, we entered this partnership with Akron Public School for the long haul. Because this work requires a long term commitment, hard work, and a lot of love and care. And that’s what we bring each and every day because the I Promise School is more than a school.”

They furthered,

“We’re here for the ups and downs, and will continue to wraparound our students and their entire families so they can be successful in school and in life, no matter the challenges and obstacles that come their way.”

Initially, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was said to have served as one of the reasons for the kids’ decreasing grades.

But… while APS Board President Dr. Derrick Hall feels that could be a possibility, he shared his disappointment and confusion at the lack of improvement versus the number of resources that are available to aid.

He expressed:

“I believe the pandemic has an impact, but it also has an impact on the non-selected kids as well and the numbers that we’re seeing here would suggest that my non-selected kids who don’t have the same number of resources are actually performing better.”

Dr. Derrick Hall concluded,

“I’m just trying to understand why. I think it’s fair to ask that question.”

Inside the classroom of the I Promise School

In defense of the score data, I Promise’s incoming chief, Stephanie Davis, said,

“At the recent Board meeting, our preliminary OST data was shared, but it’s important to note that proficiency is based on mastering grade-level standards. Our students have not yet met the grade-level mastery mark but they are demonstrating growth based on iReady scores.”

Elsewhere in her response, she explained:

“Of our incoming 8th graders, 32% met their annual typical growth in reading while 11% met their stretch goal for the year. Despite not mastering the grade-level standards, 42% of students demonstrated growth in iReady math across their 7th grade school year.”

At this time, there have been no additional words spoken on the matter from James or his team.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Let us know in the comments below!

[VIA]