LeBron Jamesis giving fans a sneak peek at his new filmI Promisewith an inspiring first trailer for the YouTube documentary.
The movie follows students and staff from the I Promise School, which James, 36, first opened in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, in 2018.I Promisetakes viewers inside the school, which is “dedicated to those students who are already falling behind and in danger of falling through the cracks,” per theI Promise website.
I Promisechronicles the school’s struggles and successes during its first academic year, showing “the day-to-day trials, triumphs, and life-changing impact of the school staff, students and families” as they work to implement a “family-first educational environment” for Akron students, per Tuesday’s press release.
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Still, he wanted to help students achieve their dreams, explaining, “So many kids like myself have dreams. And the only thing to stop those dreams from becoming a reality is the support around them.”
I Promise selected students “from the lowest 25th percentile” in Akron, a voiceover explains in the trailer, adding, “The true test of our approach will be when the students take the measures of academic progress test.”
Out of 223 students attending the school, just 11 are expected to pass the test, the trailer explains.
“What’s at stake?” James asks later, before answering, “Their lives.”
The trailer introduces some of the hundreds of students attending I Promise.PEOPLEreported last year that the school teaches “at-risk students” who have experienced “harrowing trauma” and don’t have the same “stable environment” some of their peers enjoy.
In the new doc’s trailer, one student tells the camera, “I had bad grades in math and reading,” while their classmate adds, “I’m worried about going to the fourth grade.”
Another I Promise student says that their old teachers told them they “wouldn’t be able to make it.”
“Hope is a very powerful thing. No matter the situation, if a kid knows someone truly believes in them, that changes their outlook on everything,” he explained. “With our school, everything is built on giving kids the confidence that they can do anything.”
He added, “They know I believe in them, they know their teachers, the whole staff, and everyone we’ve put around them believes in them. It’s incredible what they can do when they feel that support.”
I Promisepremieres Sept. 28 ar 12 p.m. EST on theYouTube Originals channel.
source: people.com
