Full Hearts

Love is a powerful thing, and something we lead with and lean into daily with our families in Akron. Valentine’s day just gave us another reason to especially celebrate it with our I Promise School students and staff at the annual I Promise Hearts Ball. 

With DJ Smillz bringing the beats as red lights and heart balloons filled the air, the students and the entire IPS family spread the love and appreciation for themselves and each other during this fun event. They danced in circles, they danced solo, and they danced until the day was done, only pausing for an occasional stop in the ring light photo booth. It was an afternoon full of love and fun for our hard-working students and staff. 

Love is a powerful thing, and something we lead with and lean into daily with our families in Akron.

Our hearts are also full of pride for our I Promise Network students as they visited our family at The University of Akron for a special visit designed to fuel their big dreams. The 7^th graders started their day on campus talking about the impact of hip hop in their lives with Dr. Carter, a professor from The LeBron James Family Foundation School of Education.

They then split into groups to spend time exploring career pathways in engineering, fire tech and communications. Students were able to dream big and learn about different types of engineering, how to do CPR and life-saving fire safety tips, and even got to hop on the campus radio station to give a shout out to their very own kid from Akron (and Beyoncé). Their incredible day was completed with UA’s famous Zippy cookies and a full meal at the I Promise Institute. 

This week also marked orientation for our new class of prospective I Promise students who got to learn about the school and the Foundation for the first time. Our hearts are full knowing our family will continue to grow year over year as we welcome more into this movement built on love and family. 

WE ARE FAMILY