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I am excited about this approach and I think LeBron's organization has put a lot of though and work with experts on this project. - This school is a true publi

I am excited about this approach and I think LeBron's organization has put a lot of though and work with experts on this project. - This school is a true public school and not a charter school. In Ohio a lot of charter schools can have some degree of selection in their students and kick out families which don't meet the requirements which leads to more at-risk students left to the public schools. This school is making a point of taking at-risk students. - Longer school days, 3 meals, and a longer school year helps students stay focused. Unfortunately the home environment for a lot of kids makes it so hard for these kids to be able to focus at school. In my wife's elementary school classes some kids show up with just a hamburger bun for breakfast. Others fall asleep immediately at school since they live with 5+ siblings and there are literally no available beds at home. I am not trying to blame the parents in all the cases either, a lot of the time there are single parents just trying to get by and make ends meet and don't know what more they can do. - Focussing on the teachers will also help. Teachers and unions have been vilified by Governor Kasich but they are not the main problem at all (it is the tragic home environments) with ridiculous review systems and standards, but then there is little support in challenging districts like in Akron/Cleveland. It is a lot easier to work in the suburbs where the kids would progress and learn even without teachers, so that is where everyone wants to go since a good rating is automatic. I think this problem occurs in just about every field where metrics dominate the review system (medicine, call centers, QA, etc). The turnover for teachers at local charter schools is terrible and only seems to attract early-career teachers who couldn't get a job at a public school. - This doesn't seem to be a short term flashy project but has been years in the making. None of the features here are gimmicky, but just like many things in life it takes a lot of hard work! - Adding the goal of college education shows a path forward which a lot of students don't think is possible. I am super excited to be from Akron and I hope this model proves successful!

masklinn 8y ago
> Longer school days, 3 meals, and a longer school year helps students stay focused. The middle one is absolutely true, the other two I really doubt e.g. in Finland or Germany, schoolday starts around 9AM and ends around 2PM, yielding 3h30 to 4h studies a day accounting for breaks, 5 days/week, with little homework (maybe 5h/week total). Afternoon is usually dedicated to clubs.
- organsnyder 8y ago
  For kids with unstable home environments, I think it's valuable to give them more time at school. Hopefully, the extra time includes ample opportunities for arts, sports, clubs, and other "non-academic" pursuits.
  - roland35 8y ago
    Absolutely. Most of this extra time ("wraparound time") is not necessarily structured class/tutoring time but unstructured time allowing kids to explore things like art or even play in a safe environment.
  - masklinn 8y ago
    Sure but that's not how I interpret "longer school days" which sounds like more time butt-in-seat.
    - erikpukinskis 8y ago
      I don’t see why that would be presumed. It’s less expensive to give kids supervised free time than to teach lessons.
      - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
        Ratios for structured play tend to be 1:8 adults to children (in UK), whilst classrooms are 1:30. Teachers are usually paid more, but not 3½ times more. NSPCC recommend 1:6 ratio for 4-8 year olds doing activities. I'd say max 1:3 if you want to give parent level care engaging with a child in activities the child is choosing in a meaningful way.
- maxerickson 8y ago
  There's really solid evidence that increasing classroom time increases learning. Of course, people haven't yet gotten the idea that we should try to accomplish sufficient learning with minimum classroom time.
wiremine 8y ago
> a longer school year helps students stay focused My kids (4th and 7th) attend a school with a year-round schedule, and we (kids and parents) love it: * They are less stressed because there is more breaks throughout the year. Teachers seem less stressed, too, because they don't have to pack so much in. * They retain more in the summer. * Outside of academics: it's really nice to have the option to take longer vacations outside of spring break and summer break. I'd love to see more schools move to it... 3 months off in summer seems very antiquated in hindsight.
- wink 8y ago
  Wait, is this like common in the US? I thought our 6 week summer break in German schools was on the long side :)
  - BanazirGalbasi 8y ago
    This is definitely the norm in the US. Maybe it's not quite 3 full months, closer to 2 1/2, but there's a long enough gap that time is wasted refreshing information from the previous year.
- ythn 8y ago
  One nice thing about 3 month summer is the ability to get a temporary job. When I was in high school I worked every summer as a landscaper/food service/lifeguard/etc. and gained lots of experience/money I otherwise wouldn't have gotten. With year round school that doesn't seem possible.
  - sndean 8y ago
    Definitely. I probably wouldn't have been able to have done internships over the summer with year-round school. And, at least in my case, the internship(s) led to a full-time job at the same place years later.
  - akhilcacharya 8y ago
    I don't think you're losing anything in low-skill jobs like that by not working a continuous 3 months instead of 3 weeks at a time.
e40 8y ago
Others fall asleep immediately at school since they live with 5+ siblings and there are literally no available beds at home. I am not trying to blame the parents in all the cases either At some point, though, personal responsibility has to come into play. Having 5+ children when you have no resources... this is the true elephant in the room. It seems talking about it gets labels thrown around. I guess it's a conversation we can't have right now, though.
- lexs 8y ago
  Personal responsibility of the parent sure, but the child can't exactly ask to not be born.
  - erikpukinskis 8y ago
    Also, is it personal responsibility if the state has put the parent in a situation where they will be systematically stripped of resources?
    - EpicEng 8y ago
      >Also, is it personal responsibility if the state has put the parent in a situation where they will be systematically stripped of resources? That is hardly the only problem. Society isn't at fault for all of the ills of low income areas.
      - mikepurvis 8y ago
        This is such a strange sentiment to me. Surely as a society there are many situations for which we take responsibility without assuming guilt?
        swasheck 8y ago
        I do wish that this comment could serve as the banner comment for this post. It's such an immature response to assume that because you're taking responsibility to resolve or address something that it implies that you're to blame for it having occurred in the first place. This mentality is pervasive in the elementary and middle schools that my kids attend and it's unfortunate that adults haven't grown out of it. Thank you for your comment. True leadership says that we need to work toward fixing the problem, while selfish ambition says, "not my fault, not my problem."
PantaloonFlames 8y ago
> I am not trying to blame the parents in all the cases either, a lot of the time there are single parents just trying to get by and make ends meet and don't know what more they can do. If there is a household with one parent, 5+ children, and not enough beds for them, the problem has occurred long before. One cannot blame the parent for "that day", but certainly the adult bears some responsibility for creating such a household. Having 5 kids without planning for beds, or income, or stability, is a decision SOMEONE made. It doesn't just "happen" like weather. There is human responsibility here. In my view, "I Promise" is making up for those mistakes. Its a good thing, but let's be clear about why it's valuable.
- antsar 8y ago
  Isn't it possible that "income, or stability" experienced a sudden drastic change at some point after birthing the 5th kid? It is conceivable that the parent did not have full control over that change.
  - malcolmgreaves 8y ago
    They made the choice to have the first, second, third, and fourth kid before the fifth one. Each child is a huge lifelong expense: everyone knows this fact. Condoms, birth control, abortions: these are all available tools to give people control over human reproduction.
    - glitcher 8y ago
      The availability of abortions can be severely limited depending on which state you live in.
    - oldoverholt 8y ago
      Just gonna drop this here, re: the availability of abortion services: https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/state-facts-about-abortion-ohio https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/state-facts-about-abor...
    - elil17 8y ago

masklinn 8y ago

> Longer school days, 3 meals, and a longer school year helps students stay focused. The middle one is absolutely true, the other two I really doubt e.g. in Finland or Germany, schoolday starts around 9AM and ends around 2PM, yielding 3h30 to 4h studies a day accounting for breaks, 5 days/week, with little homework (maybe 5h/week total). Afternoon is usually dedicated to clubs.

organsnyder 8y ago
For kids with unstable home environments, I think it's valuable to give them more time at school. Hopefully, the extra time includes ample opportunities for arts, sports, clubs, and other "non-academic" pursuits.
- roland35 8y ago
  Absolutely. Most of this extra time ("wraparound time") is not necessarily structured class/tutoring time but unstructured time allowing kids to explore things like art or even play in a safe environment.
- masklinn 8y ago
  Sure but that's not how I interpret "longer school days" which sounds like more time butt-in-seat.
  - erikpukinskis 8y ago
    I don’t see why that would be presumed. It’s less expensive to give kids supervised free time than to teach lessons.
    - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
      Ratios for structured play tend to be 1:8 adults to children (in UK), whilst classrooms are 1:30. Teachers are usually paid more, but not 3½ times more. NSPCC recommend 1:6 ratio for 4-8 year olds doing activities. I'd say max 1:3 if you want to give parent level care engaging with a child in activities the child is choosing in a meaningful way.
maxerickson 8y ago
There's really solid evidence that increasing classroom time increases learning. Of course, people haven't yet gotten the idea that we should try to accomplish sufficient learning with minimum classroom time.

wiremine 8y ago

> a longer school year helps students stay focused My kids (4th and 7th) attend a school with a year-round schedule, and we (kids and parents) love it: * They are less stressed because there is more breaks throughout the year. Teachers seem less stressed, too, because they don't have to pack so much in. * They retain more in the summer. * Outside of academics: it's really nice to have the option to take longer vacations outside of spring break and summer break. I'd love to see more schools move to it... 3 months off in summer seems very antiquated in hindsight.

wink 8y ago
Wait, is this like common in the US? I thought our 6 week summer break in German schools was on the long side :)
- BanazirGalbasi 8y ago
  This is definitely the norm in the US. Maybe it's not quite 3 full months, closer to 2 1/2, but there's a long enough gap that time is wasted refreshing information from the previous year.
ythn 8y ago
One nice thing about 3 month summer is the ability to get a temporary job. When I was in high school I worked every summer as a landscaper/food service/lifeguard/etc. and gained lots of experience/money I otherwise wouldn't have gotten. With year round school that doesn't seem possible.
- sndean 8y ago
  Definitely. I probably wouldn't have been able to have done internships over the summer with year-round school. And, at least in my case, the internship(s) led to a full-time job at the same place years later.
- akhilcacharya 8y ago
  I don't think you're losing anything in low-skill jobs like that by not working a continuous 3 months instead of 3 weeks at a time.

e40 8y ago

Others fall asleep immediately at school since they live with 5+ siblings and there are literally no available beds at home. I am not trying to blame the parents in all the cases either At some point, though, personal responsibility has to come into play. Having 5+ children when you have no resources... this is the true elephant in the room. It seems talking about it gets labels thrown around. I guess it's a conversation we can't have right now, though.

lexs 8y ago
Personal responsibility of the parent sure, but the child can't exactly ask to not be born.
- erikpukinskis 8y ago
  Also, is it personal responsibility if the state has put the parent in a situation where they will be systematically stripped of resources?
  - EpicEng 8y ago
    >Also, is it personal responsibility if the state has put the parent in a situation where they will be systematically stripped of resources? That is hardly the only problem. Society isn't at fault for all of the ills of low income areas.
    - mikepurvis 8y ago
      This is such a strange sentiment to me. Surely as a society there are many situations for which we take responsibility without assuming guilt?
      - swasheck 8y ago
        I do wish that this comment could serve as the banner comment for this post. It's such an immature response to assume that because you're taking responsibility to resolve or address something that it implies that you're to blame for it having occurred in the first place. This mentality is pervasive in the elementary and middle schools that my kids attend and it's unfortunate that adults haven't grown out of it. Thank you for your comment. True leadership says that we need to work toward fixing the problem, while selfish ambition says, "not my fault, not my problem."

PantaloonFlames 8y ago

> I am not trying to blame the parents in all the cases either, a lot of the time there are single parents just trying to get by and make ends meet and don't know what more they can do. If there is a household with one parent, 5+ children, and not enough beds for them, the problem has occurred long before. One cannot blame the parent for "that day", but certainly the adult bears some responsibility for creating such a household. Having 5 kids without planning for beds, or income, or stability, is a decision SOMEONE made. It doesn't just "happen" like weather. There is human responsibility here. In my view, "I Promise" is making up for those mistakes. Its a good thing, but let's be clear about why it's valuable.

antsar 8y ago
Isn't it possible that "income, or stability" experienced a sudden drastic change at some point after birthing the 5th kid? It is conceivable that the parent did not have full control over that change.
- malcolmgreaves 8y ago
  They made the choice to have the first, second, third, and fourth kid before the fifth one. Each child is a huge lifelong expense: everyone knows this fact. Condoms, birth control, abortions: these are all available tools to give people control over human reproduction.
  - glitcher 8y ago
    The availability of abortions can be severely limited depending on which state you live in.
  - oldoverholt 8y ago
    Just gonna drop this here, re: the availability of abortion services: https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/state-facts-about-abortion-ohio https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/state-facts-about-abor...
  - elil17 8y ago