I rolled my eyes when I heard about NBA star LeBron James’ opening of a school in his hometown of Akron, Ohio last year. While I applauded King James’ intention, I was quick to dismiss his philanthropy.
“I’m sure the school uniforms are Nike,” I jealously quipped at my sports-loving kids, airing my underlying belief that the I Promise School was little more than a branding exercise for James and his coveted shoe brand.
Now, a year of I Promise in the rear view, my skepticism is withering – and not only because of the highly publicized test score increases of its population of 3rd and 4th graders.
Maybe, in fact, LeBron’s I Promise could provide a few model for school funding everywhere.
In particular, there are three principles at the core of I Promise that, to me, work in every school, anywhere:
(1) Privatized Funding for Public Schools
Let’s be clear: LeBron is not funding I Promise in whole.
Rather, the LeBron James Family Foundation contributes $600k to the school’s $2 million annual budget. Make no mistake, the Akron Public School system is footing most of the bill for LeBron’s educational project.
Instead of screaming that LeBron’s is getting a disproportionate amount of credit given his relatively small investment, I wonder if other public schools are missing opportunities to seek similar arrangement with their own local companies and/or celebrities.
Why can’t my kids attend the Tampa Bay Rays School for Excellence?
My kids could be jealous of their cousins attending the Dan Gable Gold Medal Elementary?
Hell, why not have the Apple Academic Center of California?
So, instead of calling out James’ as a glory seeking brand manager disguised as a do-gooder, I should encourage any other affluent locals step up and open their checkbook.
Why not have public schools (in part or whole) “selling out” to corporations or individuals willing to pay a portion of the bills?
(2) The Student-Family
One of the endearing of the I Promise School is the education of, not only, the struggling student in the curriculum, but of those supporting the student when the school day ends.
The contribution of the James Family Foundation to I Promise enables the school to provide a resource center that doles out everything from legal advice to G.E.D. preparation class to Jiff Peanut Butter to the parents and extended families of students.
All schools (and especially at the lower levels) should not allow the school bell signal the beginning of a silent, often unacknowledged and embarrassing existence for their student’s families.
Even the smartest child cannot succeed with a grumbling belly looking through the exhausted eyes of an uncomfortable night sleeping on a hard floor.
(3) Importance of Culture
Maybe I Promise is an extension of LeBron James’ branding – with shoes adorning the lobby, his likeness everywhere and his infrequent visits garnering hope for his first classes of “chosen ones.”
There is some ego at work, I suppose. I see, though, in this branding endeavor, a powerful, communal element that technology is suppressing at the schools around me. In each I Promise picture I see and in any article I read, three words showed up – We Are Family.
These three words drive the culture at the school. The famous Sister Sledge tune even reverberate through I Promise’s hallways, celebrating the start of each school day.
We Are Family is plastered to student’s lockers. The all-for-one, we’re-in-this-together attitude of the staff seems genuine and pervasive.
My kids’ schools struggle to nurture the true, face-to-face social interactions that create strong communities and a sense that students are part of something bigger than, simply, their own successes (or failures).
These I Promise lessons shouldn’t be ignored or, as I did, quickly dismissed.
Yes, I was initially skeptical of King James’ school in Akron.
Maybe a piece of me still is. I’ll need longer term proof that I Promise will change the lives of previously under-served kids. I want to see the I Promise graduates lead a more compassionate, resilient, understanding future world.
But, no, I won’t ignore the repeatable lessons that all communities can (and should) heed from I Promise.
And, when our schools take action in line with I Promise, where our kids “take their talents” will be as limitless as and King James endorsement deal.
