LeBron James Opens STEM-Based School For At-Risk Students In Ohio (sbnation.com)

NBA superstar LeBron James is opening a new school that many are calling a "game changer." It extends the length of a traditional school day and focuses on teaching a STEM curriculum to students who have a higher probability of failing academically or dropping out of school. An anonymous Slashdot reader shares a report from SB Nation: LeBron James' I Promise School opened Monday to serve low-income and at-risk students in his hometown, and the public school could be an agent of change in the eastern Ohio city. The institution is the intersection of James' philanthropic Family Foundation and the I Promise Network he helped kickstart. I Promise began as an Akron-based non-profit aimed at boosting achievement for younger students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Now the movement has the means to educate these students year-round. I Promise will feature longer school days, a non-traditional school year, and greater access to the school, its facilities, and its teachers during down time for students. That's a formula aimed at replicating some of the at-home support children may be missing when it comes to schoolwork. The school has also anchored its curriculum in math and science-based teaching, dipping into the STEM -- science, technology, engineering, and math -- curriculum that prepares students for the jobs of the future.

Comments

Noble but misplaced

[TimothyHollins]

Honorable, but not quite useful.

If you want to help, build a school for the unusually gifted. Take those out of regular schools where the pace is low and put them together so they can push each other to greatness.

Of those that have a higher probability of failing, only a certain percent are failing because of the school itself. Many will be failing due to the situation at home, or simply because they don't have the mental faculties to comprehend. Those that show up will have a wide variety of different needs (some may be physically handicapped, some may be mentally handicapped, some may need therapy or counseling), and trying to put them all in one place is sure to cause further problems. If it's "low-income" students, putting them all together is sure to cause problems with violence, drugs, and bad behavior.

If you want low-income students to excel, put one or two in classes with mid to high income students so they get inundated with a better culture and attitude instead, that will do far more good.

Re:Noble but misplaced

[h4ck7h3p14n37]

Why spend resources on the underachievers when the overachievers can accomplish ten times as much?

I was in my school district's "gifted" program when I was younger and from what I understand it's pretty common for some people to feel like the gifted kids should fewer resources to help them achieve instead of more. I guess the belief is that you can raise the bottom kids up, but can you?

I would think it would be better to get poor people to stop having children they can't raise properly than to try to correct for bad parenting with a special school.

Re:Noble but misplaced

[PopeRatzo]

the uncounted trillions spent by government trying to make sure every person can handle consumer math

"Uncounted trillions"? Maybe more money should have been spent teaching you numbers and counting.

Re:Err....

[Anonymous Coward]

No, because if the money had come from some non-athletic white guy or a corporation or government entity, it would have little chance of really impacting the target demographic. Many at-risk kids aren't going to be too interested in being mocked for going to a special nerd school.

But when one of the greatest sports heroes the kids know of has his name on it, there is little worry about being mocked for going there to get an education. The potential impact to change lives really is because of him, not just his money.