Instead of asking why their kids can’t read, write, or seem to understand basic math, parents and supporters of LeBron James’ “I Promise School” in Akron, Ohio, arrived in force at a local school board meeting to instead chastise the district for releasing results showing that the students have some of the worst test scores you could possibly imagine.
Inside the I Promise School via NBC News YouTube
First up to bat was Victoria McGree, the senior director of the LeBron James Family Foundation and the I Promise School Family Resources Center, who instead of taking accountability for putting these students in probably worse academic condition than if they just went to a regular, failing public school, instead said that the Akron Public Schools board hurt their feelings.
“Your actions degraded every Akron Public Schools educator that has ever taught the current and past I Promise students that you have singled out locally and nationally,” McGee said in her remarks to the board according to the Akron Beacon Journal. “Absolutely, it was hurtful to the LeBron James Family Foundation, but more importantly, detrimental to our students.”
Let’s look at it this way— it’s like a drug addict getting mad at a doctor because the doctor told the drug addict they have a crack addiction. That’s how she looks right now.
LeBron James speaking at the I Promise School’s grand opening via Global News YouTube
RELATED: Humiliating Student Test Results From LeBron James-Supported ‘I Promise School’ Draw Criticism
Derrick Hall, president of the board, wasn’t having any of that though.
“If you go back and you actually watch the board meeting, nobody on this board, no speaker or presenter made any comments that any rational person would call belittling, bullying, or anything of that nature,” Hall said in response to McGee.
He also added that McGee’s nonsensical statements (“bulls*t” as some would say) towards the board were simply “their own self-serving narratives.”
Lebron’s I Promise School in Akron Photo Credit: Cards84664, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Last month, it was revealed that the eighth graders at the I Promise School hadn’t passed a state math exam since third grade, which an official found “discouraging.” The I Promise School is unique; to attend, students must have reading scores in the bottom 25% by the end of second grade.
Its goal is to help students at risk of falling behind. While it is a public school, it collaborates with the LeBron James Family Foundation and receives the same funding as other public schools. Besides education, the school offers support like housing, food, and job training for parents.
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