Was the LeBron James school a false promise?

In August, basketball superstar LeBron James made headlines in the education policy circles. It had nothing to do with his performance on the basketball court or his chase for a fifth world championship title this upcoming season. Instead, drama surrounded the acclaimed I Promise school that his foundation has supported since its opening in 2018 in James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio.

Recent Ohio state test results revealed a troubling truth. None of the now 8th graders who have spent the last three years in James’ school have met Ohio proficiency standards — not a single student. The LeBron James Family Foundation has invested millions of dollars in the school, while securing additional support from the likes of Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and superstar musician Drake. But is it all for nothing? Is the I Promise School a failure?

In 2018, I wrote a piece in Education Week applauding James’ effort. My main argument was that the governing arrangement — not just the star-powered philanthropy — is a reason for excitement about the school as a model. Unlike other notable philanthropy-driven schooling models like the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in Detroit or Deion Sanders’s Prime Prep Academies in Texas, the I Promise School positioned itself to operate largely as a traditional public school managed and held accountable by the local school board. Are the low test scores an indictment of the model? No. If anything, the scores are a result of the school’s design. I Promise enrolls students through a lottery reserved for students who test in the bottom 30% on reading assessments. They want the kids who are being left behind.