AKRON, Ohio — With the first group of I Promise School seniors preparing to graduate, the University of Akron announced on Monday a scholarship designed to work hand-in-hand with the tuition scholarships the university and the LeBron James Family Foundation announced in 2015.
What You Need To Know
- The University of Akron will provide five students with a scholarship for room and board that’s designed to work with the tuition scholarships the university and the LeBron James Family Foundation announced in 2015
- The new Zips Promise Scholarship will cover housing and meals for four years of study for five first-time, full-time I Promise School students
- The first class that’s eligible for the tuition scholarships will graduate from the I Promise School this year
- Students awarded the Zips Promise Scholarship must earn a 2.25 grade point average, maintain good disciplinary standing and take part in various programs
The new Zips Promise Scholarship, worth an estimated $13,000 per student, will pay for housing and meals for up to four years of study for five first-time, full-time I Promise School students.
All graduating I Promise School students are eligible for four years of free tuition at the University of Akron if they meet a set of requirements from academic goals to community service.
“The University of Akron is committed to educational opportunity for all students and we are excited to mark the occasion of the first I PROMISE graduating class with the Zips Promise Scholarship,” UA President Gary L. Miller said in a news release. ”We value our partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation and want to deepen our commitment to ensuring these students have all of the wrap-around support needed to succeed in college.”
To maintain the Zips scholarship, students have to earn a 2.25 grade point average by the time they complete 30 credits. They also have to maintain good disciplinary standing and take part in various programs. The scholarship includes opportunities for on-campus jobs, the university said.
When the first I Promise School class convened a decade ago, most attending students and their families were not considering college because of the many barriers they faced, said Foundation Executive Director Michele Campbell.
“Our longtime partnership with the University of Akron changed that completely, and gave our students more to strive for,” Campbell said in the release. “Now that our first class is eligible for college, we know how much these scholarships, and the opportunity to have free housing and meals for all four years, mean to our families. It truly has changed the trajectory of our families’ lives and we are so excited for their futures. We can’t wait to walk alongside them and our partners at the University of Akron as their educational journeys continue.”
Launched in 2011, the I Promise School is part of the Akron Public Schools District. Through specialized programming, the school promotes social-emotional learning, focusing on both academics and character building and offering "wrap-around services" for students and their families. Each year, the school accepts a new group of academically at-risk third graders.
Graduating I Promise School students can apply for the Zips scholarship online.