Tag: Akron Public Schools

LeBron James Family Foundation students part of Lakers virtual crowd

Ambassadors from the LeBron James Family Foundation were a part of the virtual crowd in Wednesday’s game against Oklahoma City.

This summer is unlike any other and usually, right around now, LeBron James and the LeBron James Family Foundation would be planning on their usual family reunion. But even in the middle of the pandemic, LeBron James found a special way to give a treat to the student ambassadors of the LeBron James Family Foundation and also students of the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio.

In Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, student ambassadors, and students who are part of the I Promise community were included in the virtual crowd for what was considered a Lakers home game.

The Lakers have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after their win on Monday against the Utah Jazz, but they still have an opportunity to get better and a special crowd who deserves a great performance as well The Lakers should be in a tough game, as Oklahoma City is poised to make the postseason.

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First families close to move-in at I PROMISE Village near Akron school

The LeBron James Family Foundation showed moments of families moving into the temporary housing created by the I PROMISE school.

As the I PROMISE public school in Akron, Ohio continues to expand its programs and reach throughout the community for families in need, outside of the school day. One of the ways in which the IPS is helping families outside of the classroom is through providing transitional housing for families who are currently houseless or in distressing living situations. The families are expected to move in shortly and the LeBron James Family Foundation showed photos earlier this week of people bringing beds into the facility, which is being created in partnership with Graduate Hotels.

Graduate Hotels specializes in creating hotels near college campuses, so being in charge of a living situation near a school is right in their wheelhouse.

“Initially, our work was focused on helping these kids earn an education. But we’ve found that it is impossible to help them learn if they are struggling to survive – if they are hungry, if they have no heat in the freezing winter, if they live in fear for their safety,” said LeBron James back in November when the initiative was announced. “We want this place to be their home where they feel safe, supported, and loved, knowing we are right there with them every step of the way as they get back on their feet.”

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LeBron James wins Kids Choice award and UNINTERRUPTED gets Webby noms

LeBron James won Kids Choice awards over the weekend and his media company UNINTERRUPTED received two Emmy nominations.

Although LeBron James would likely be playing in the playoffs right about now under normal circumstances, LeBron and one of the brands closest to him came away with some awards and award nominations over the weekend.

LeBron James won two awards from the Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards, including Male Athlete of the Year and “Generation Change” recipient for his work with the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, which began schooling in the summer of 2018. James accepted the award last night and shared that he would be sending the Kids Choice Awards to the I Promise School for them to be there whenever students are able to return.

LeBron’s athlete-focused sports media company UNINTERRUPTED also received two Webby nominations for their work. The nominations were for “Best Overall Social Presence” in the category of Sports, while they also earned a nomination for “Best Social Campaign: Diversity & Inclusion” for their campaign called “Love Is Uninterrupted,” featuring Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe.

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LeBron says new documentary about ‘I Promise’ school brought tears to his eyes

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James shared his feelings on the new documentary on Quibi during an Instagram Live on Monday.

LeBron James has said it many times before but there is no doubt that the new documentary series on Quibi about his ‘I Promise’ school in Akron, Ohio, has reinforced the feeling that creating the school is the greatest accomplishment of his Hall of Fame career. The new series debuted yesterday as the Quibi platform finally became available.

On Monday afternoon, James took questions for 15 minutes on the I Promise School’s Instagram page. He told fans that some of the scenes about the school, which he watched with his family, brought tears, even though he was an Executive Producer.

Via Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal

“I watched it here with my whole family — my wife, my daughter Zhuri, Bronny and Bryce, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law … there were times we were laughing, there were times where tears were coming down, not only [from] my eyes, my family members’ eyes as well,” James said.

“Most of my family loved Vince, Dae’Shanna, Scout and seeing how far Scout was able to come, just seeing how fast she was trying to read and trying to articulate it in her mind. She was speaking really fast. You just see her progression, the same with Nate.”

With the I Promise School focusing largely on helping kids deal with trauma from their lives, allowing them to have the capacity to learn, it’s clear that the stories on the show brought them to life in a way that was already very real for LeBron.
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LeBron James provided a Taco Tuesday to feed 1,300 people in Akron

“Taco Tuesday” is taking on a new, much more important meaning in the universe of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

LeBron James has made it very well-known over the past few years how much he loves tacos, especially when they come on Tuesday. But Taco Tuesday has a new, more important meaning now in light of a global pandemic that has completely changed most of American life.

As you all know by now, schools across the country are moving to remote learning or will be postponed for a while. One of the schools affected is the I Promise school in Akron, Ohio that LeBron James helped start, but is part of the Akron Public school district. On Tuesday, James and the school started a two-week Taco Tuesday program for 340 I Promise students and their families. It will happen again next Tuesday as well, totaling nearly 700 meals over 2 weeks. In total, the meals given out were closer to 1,300, according to USA TODAY’s Jeff Zillgitt. The meals were also given while adhering to social distancing protocols.

Akron Family Restaurant co-owner Nick Corpas said he got a call last week and was excited to help. He started making his orders almost immediately and began prepping for the meals on Monday. He and restaurant employees arrived at the restaurant at 6 a.m. ET Tuesday to cook and assemble the meals.

He said they finished around 4 p.m., and LJFF volunteers parked cars outside the restaurant. Adhering to social distancing recommendations, the volunteers remained in their cars while workers and volunteers placed the food in trunks.

Each serving tray provided food for four to five people — enough for more than 1,300 people to have dinner.

While the spread of the coronavirus and the pandemic has forced everyone inside, LeBron is still upholding his commitment to go above and beyond for his kids at the I Promise School. LeBron’s Lakers teammate Kyle Kuzma also committed to providing 500 meals a week to kids in his hometown of Flint, Michigan through the Flint YMCA.

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‘I Promise’ school in Akron to be featured in new documentary series

The story of the school started by the Los Angeles Lakers star in his hometown of Akron, Ohio will air on the streaming platform Quibi.

Although the school has been profiled by media outlets of all kinds, rarely has there been the amount of access to the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, started by LeBron James in 2018, as there is in an upcoming documentary series about the school, their students and their methods.

Quibi and SpringHill Entertainment announced a new production on Monday entitled “I PROMISE,” which will feature incredible access to the school, its students, staff, and of course, LeBron James, who is also an executive producer on the production. The documentary is being directed by Marc Levin, who created movies such as “Brick City,” and “Chicagoland.” They also released a trailer.

As you can see in the trailer, the “I PROMISE” documentary will follow the school in their first year as they try to help kids from poor backgrounds in the city of Akron get through school and eventually to college. The program began with 3rd and 4th graders because James wanted to make an impact on the lives of children as early as possible.

The school has also implemented emotional education, as they prioritize helping kids deal with trauma as well as the educational growth of their students.

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