LeBron James joins other celebrities who have started schools

With the launch of a public school in his home town of Akron, Ohio, LeBron James joined a long list of celebrities who sought to leave their mark on education centers.

The NBA star, who recently left the Cleveland Cavaliers and signed with the Los Angeles Lakers, was on hand Monday to welcome the children to the I Promise School, built in partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron City Schools. The school is launching with a group of third and fourth year students and plans to expand until the eighth grade by 2022.

James said that The school, with a non-traditional schedule and year-round programming, can have a lasting impact for children facing the kinds of challenges that it has faced during a difficult childhood. James grew up without a father, and he missed a lot of school because he and his mother lacked transportation.

Here are some other celebrities who have been involved in school creation, sometimes with mixed results: [19659002] DEION SANDERS

The NFL Hall of Fame co-founded a multi-member charter school campus called Prime Prep Academy in Texas in 2012. He was coaching and served in other duties but had a difficult relationship with administrators. . School attendance slid amidst financial and administrative problems, and she closed in early 2015.

SHAKIRA

The singer funded at least half a dozen schools for children in his native Colombia during the last two decades. Descalzos pies, which means barefoot in Spanish. These institutions included a $ 6 million school that she devoted in 2009 to her hometown, Barranquilla, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. She said then that the work of her foundation is to "break the myth that quality education is the privilege of the few."

MAGIC JOHNSON

The Lakers legend announced in 2011 that he was working in partnership with EdisonLearning Inc. for profit. lend her name and business skills to promote drop-in centers. The effort has expanded to at least 17 Bridgescape schools in six states in a few years with the goal of reducing school dropout rates in urban areas. The company and Johnson have split after five years, but EdisonLearning says that four Bridgescape Learning Academies are still working with the Chicago Public Schools.

TONY BENNETT

The singer and his wife, Susan Benedetto, founded the Frank Sinatra School. Arts in 2001 in New York, naming him after the legendary singer, who was Bennett's best friend. The Queens Performing Arts Public High School, which receives support from Bennett's non-profit group, admits students on the basis of auditions. He has a high graduation rate, with alumni who have studied at various graduate schools of the arts.

WILL SMITH

The actor-rapper and his actress wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, found the New Village private academy. Pinkett Smith said she was excited to start school after developing home schooling programs for their own children, but she was plagued by controversy over rumors that the program was using methods pedagogical materials developed by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. . The couple and the school leaders denied any connection with the church. The school would have closed in 2013.

ANDRE AGASSI

The tennis racer led the Preparatory Academy of College Andre Agbadi for at-risk youth in his hometown, Las Vegas. In 2016, the academy was entrusted to an out-of-state operator, and was renamed Democracy Prep at Campus Agbadi. The school change was constrained by a Nevada state initiative that targeted low-performing schools. The Andre Agbadi Foundation for Education is also linked to an investment fund that helps school operators gain access to buildings and facilities in the country

SEBS "DIDDY" COMBS [19659002] of Capital Preparatory Harlem Charter School in the New York district where he was born. He said that it was a dream come true to create the school, which is part of a group of schools aimed at supporting historically disadvantaged students.

PITBULL

The rapper, whose real name is Armando Christian Perez, is a celebrity. Ambbadador of the Sports and Leadership Academy, which has offices in Miami and Henderson, Nevada. He appeared at ceremonies for schools, which focus on sports medicine, marketing, business and management. The academy is overseen by the Academy Sports and Leadership Foundation, and it is not a backer.

MADONNA

The pop star founded the Malawi Raising Charity in 2006 to help vulnerable children of this poor nation of southern Africa. His job was to help build schools there. He also funded a children's wing at a hospital that opened last year.

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Ho reported from Seattle, Franko from Columbus, Ohio. Follow the journalists on Twitter at https://twitter.com/-sallyho and https://twitter.com/kantele10.