Making Strides
Reading scores district wide rise, IPS jumps in reading and math
Akron Public Schools has seen third grade reading scores improve across the district with 65% of third grade students now reading at or above their grade level.
Noteworthy is I PROMISE School, (IPS) which saw tremendous growth in its first year.
IPS scored in the 99th growth percentile of school norms. This means that I PROMISE School grew at a better rate than 99 out of 100 schools nationally.
The percentage of students who met or exceeded their expected growth was 90% in math and reading.
IPS Principal Brandi Davis told us, "Our dynamic STEM curriculum, family wrap around services and trauma informed supports are the key to our success!"
The APS I PROMISE School (IPS( opened last July with support from LeBron James and the LeBron James Family Foundation.
LeBron James said at the opening ceremony for IPS, “Kids, the most important thing we can give them is structure and a sense that we care,” he said from the stage. “That’s what we want to create here. School is about learning, but more importantly, it’s about the friendships you create every single day. Kids just want to know that someone cares about them. It builds character that will last forever.”
IPS offers wraparound services like financial assistance, access to Legal Aid, food, clothing and more. Not to mention all I Promise students who graduate high school and fulfill other requirements will have a full scholarship to The University of Akron awaiting them.
The benefit of the supports offered serve many needs for families who don’t know how to navigate the system well enough to help their children. As LeBron James Family Foundation Executive Director Michele Campbell told a reporter recently, "(Our families) have to do the work, but we’ll help them.”