LeBron's I Promise School already showing improved test results

The LeBron James Family Foundation's support for public education in its famous founder's hometown of Akron, Ohio, is already showing markers of early success.

Since James helped open the I Promise School in 2018, 90 percent of the inaugural class of third and fourth-grade students have already met or exceeded their personal goals for reading and math performance, according to The New York Times' Erica L. Green.

In fact, the degree of growth seen in the students' test results rank in the 99th percentile, per evaluation association NWEA, which administers the Measures of Academic Progress assessment.

“These kids are doing an unbelievable job, better than we all expected,” James told Green. “When we first started, people knew I was opening a school for kids. Now people are going to really understand the lack of education they had before they came to our school. People are going to finally understand what goes on behind our doors.”

For kids already starting at a disadvantage in terms of academic performance, there is still much work to be done. Keith Liechty, a coordinator in Akron public school system’s Office of School Improvement, is taking a realistic approach to the results the school has produced to date.

“It’s encouraging to see growth, but by no means are we out of the woods,” Liechty explained. “The goal is for these students to be at grade level, and we’re not there yet. This just tells us we’re going in the right direction.”