LeBron James’s school of failed promises
Christopher Tremoglie
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NBA megastar LeBron James once said, “being black in America is tough.” If that’s true, then his “I Promise School” has made it even tougher. The students at the school, 60% of whom are black, cannot pass state-issued math tests. Not one eighth grade student passed an arithmetic test in three years, according to reports. It’s an embarrassment and unmitigated disaster for James, who has been a frequent know-it-all and outspoken critic on social issues.
The news of the “I Promise School” was initially met with great fanfare when it opened in 2018. The school benefited from a trove of resources from one of the country’s wealthiest celebrities. Stories of how great the kids were doing dominated the news initially. James was heralded as a hero. But just a couple of years after it opened its doors, it failed to uphold its most basic responsibility: educate children. James’s educational initiative quickly unraveled into a school of failed promises.
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As mentioned, not one eighth grade student was able to pass Ohio’s standardized testing for math for three years. Moreover, the school obviously knew its students failed to achieve state educational requirements, yet still promoted students to the next grade.
The magnitude of this failure must not be downplayed. What exactly were the school’s teachers and administrators doing?
“For three years, not one child passed the state test in math? Not one? For three years?” school board member Valerie McKitrick asked upon reviewing test data from the most recent school year.
Furthermore, consider that students from the “I Promise School” were significantly outperformed by students from schools that didn’t have the kind of funding that James provided. Students from James’s school were statistically worse off than had they attended other schools in Ohio. It was a revelation that shattered many left-wing narratives about needing more money to succeed in education — something not lost on Dr. Derrick Hall, the school board president.
“I believe the pandemic has an impact, but it also has an impact on the non-selected kids as well, and the numbers that we’re seeing here would suggest that my non-selected kids who don’t have the same number of resources are actually performing better, and I’m just trying to understand why,” Hall said about the school’s poor results. “I think it’s fair to ask that question.”
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For someone who constantly craves the public spotlight, James has been conspicuously quiet about his school’s failures. So, too, has the media that has propped him up and adored him each time he commented on social issues. Both seem intent on covering up the controversy.
As much as James was celebrated for the school’s opening, he deserves to be held accountable for its cataclysmic failure. Not having a student pass a state math exam is unacceptable for one year, let alone three. The next time he wants to comment on social justice and other issues affecting the nation, he should check that his house is in order. And that starts with ensuring the lives of school children aren’t sabotaged by the school he founded and funds.