Rich people receive more academic opportunities leading them to their great success. They are provided with opportunities such as private tutors. On the other hand, minorities struggle academically due to several factors hindering their academic success such as the limited funding in public schools and low income. Basketball player, Lebron James, partnered with Akron Public Schools to construct a public school for students who struggle academically in his hometown Akron, Ohio named “I Promise”. Fortunate students might say that Lebron James is biased for creating the “I Promise” school for a limited group of students. However, Lebron James created this school for students who struggle academically to provide better opportunities including a STEM camp, better academic support, health related opportunities and jobs.

Lebron James funded the “I Promise” school in order to provide better academic opportunities for students who struggle academically. James partnered with Akron Public Schools to open up a new public school for 3rd and 4th graders in order to decrease the dropout rates in the future. The “I Promise school was designed to target the Akron Public Schools students who struggle despite the existing supports provided by the nonprofit” (Lebron James “I PROMISE” School).  Lebron James wants to help students who struggle academically because he “knows what it’s like to be an at-risk student” (Lebron James Opened A Public School).Since James knew the struggle he related to them and knew how to help. In addition, this campaign is important because James is opening a public school, something very few celebrities do. For the most part, celebrities like Elon Musk help fund private and charter schools. Thus, Lebron James did something disparate by opening a public school for academically at-risk students. The majority of students who enter private/charter schools are praised for their good grades. On the other hand, at-risk students are belittled due to their poor academic skills. As a result, these students could end up feeling like failures and don’t get recognized due to their grades. However, when a famous basketball player recognizes them, they are motivated to do better.

The I Promise campaign is delivered through a series of interviews and articles.  For instance, Lebron uses the news, social media, and speeches to get the message out. Through social media, Lebron James reaches more people nationwide. According to the article by Max Zhaun in Money magazine, Lebron James,  remembers “walking these hallways and seeing, when I was driving here, just the streets that I walked, some of the stores are still up when I was growing up,” he told ESPN. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget — and hopefully the kids, starting with the 240 kids that we have going in here right now starting today, will never forget it, either.” Communicating with others, Lebron James is trying to fix a broken community where he grew up in, where there were drugs, shootings, and gang violence everyday. Lebron James expresses that “this school of students could be the next big thing, such as a NBA basketball player, next famous rapper like Jay Z or Beyonce, or even a great tennis player like Serena Williams”, motivating students to work hard to be somebody in life.

The “I Promise” campaign is relevant in today’s society because there are many students who are underserved in schools. Education is essential in order to find a job or enter a career field. Many underserved students are put to the side and have little to no support leading to an increase in high school drop outs especially in cities like Akron, OH. James’ school opened Fall 2018 making it difficult to tell whether this campaign of the I Promise School will be successful because it just started, but one thing’s for sure: whatever Lebron James gets involved in you know it will most likely succeed. This school provides the support such as a summer STEM camp that will benefit students because STEM is fundamental in academics. In addition, this schools provides “access to job placement services and help acquiring their GEDs” to parents of students. This factor motivates students because if students see their parents receiving an education and are provided with job opportunities, this motivates students to do better. One of the most essential benefits of this school, is that it guarantees “tuition for all graduates to the University of Akron” (Lebron James School ). Receiving free tuition for college allows students to focus on school and not worry about paying tuition. This campaign is important for others to know about because it will open a lot of doors for students in the city and state of Akron, Ohio. In addition, this campaign can inspire other celebrities who share the same mission as Lebron James to open a public school.  There is a local impact right now but, one day it’s going to have a national impact by possibly having others focusing on the “I Promise School” idea nationwide. Overall, people with any form of influence should try to make a difference.

Citations::

http://time.com/money/5354265/lebron-james-i-promise-school-akron/

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/04/us/lebron-james-opens-school-trnd/index.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/08/lebron-james-school-unique/568243/

https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2018/7/30/17629560/lebron-james-i-promise-school-akron