One of the key lessons from the first year of the I Promise School in Akron was the importance of flexibility.

The school, a collaboration between the Akron Public Schools and the LeBron James Family Foundation, is now in its second year, serving about 340 third- through fifth-grade students. By 2022, the school will expand to serve third through eighth grade.

The Akron Public Schools have long had programs to support at-risk students, like those selected for the school, but the I Promise School takes a more focused, comprehensive approach.

When the I Promise School opened in 2018, Michele Campbell, executive director of the LeBron James Family Foundation, said she felt like the team was ready.

They were, to a point, but the school has had to continue listening to its families and evolving quickly as their needs shift. Campbell doesn't ever expect that to stop.

"Because what's affecting our families today may not be the same thing that affects our families tomorrow," she said.

The LeBron James Family Foundation offers financial support to the I Promise School, but it also brings what Campbell called its "We are family" philosophy. That means the school aims to support students beyond the school walls and offer resources to support their families, as well.

The school looks to remove potential barriers to learning, providing transportation for students living more than two miles away as well as daily breakfast, lunch and snacks. The school's model also includes extensive supports for families, such as a food pantry, legal aid and medical services and GED classes. And those supports keep growing. New this year are a laundry facility and English-as-a-second-language classes.

Parent Ciara DeBruce didn't know those wraparound services would be part of the experience when she enrolled her daughter, fourth-grader LaRiyah Moore, in the I Promise School, but she's since made use of the available resources.

"It's all-around care," she said. "It's very family-oriented."

DeBruce has seen a number of changes since LaRiyah became a student. Her daughter appreciates that students have opportunities to move around, instead of always being asked to sit still. Her reading levels have increased and she was almost always with a book this summer.

The wraparound services are one of the pillars on which the I Promise School is built. The school also incorporates a STEM curriculum and, critically, trauma-informed practices in education. That means the school spends a significant amount of time on social-emotional learning for students.

An hour is set aside in the morning dedicated to social-emotional learning, explained Keith Liechty-Clifford, school improvement coordinator at the Akron Public Schools. During that time, teachers hold what are called I Promise circles that incorporate lessons on topics like anger management or preparing for the day.

Sometimes, Liechty-Clifford said, a student may say they're angry, but they're actually nervous about something happening that day. Teaching students about their emotions and helping them to identify exactly what they're feeling — and giving both students and teachers de-escalation tools — is important, he said.

Teachers at the I Promise School know students are coming in at a lower reading level, said fourth-grade teacher Amy Kaser, but rather than frustrating students with assignment after assignment, the focus on social and emotional supports allows teachers to look at the whole person and see where they are emotionally. It's important that students learn to recognize those emotions in themselves, too.

Bridget Casenhiser, a fourth-grade teacher who runs a combined classroom with Kaser, agreed, saying the school views itself as an extension of the students' families. It aims to first bolster students emotionally and then to focus on academics.

One of the ways teachers do this is through the morning and afternoon I Promise circles.

In Casenhiser and Kaser's classroom, students begin their morning circle by listening to a song, usually chosen by Casenhiser. The goal is for the song to inspire something that the students can focus on for the day. For example, students may promise that they'll be a better listener that day, which the teachers will remind them of, Casenhiser said.

"So they are able to identify and make a connection with that," she said.

In the afternoon, the students reconvene for what Kaser calls a "restorative" circle. It's a time for students to unwind from lunch and recess and to share their feelings from the day so far.

To include such a strong focus on social-emotional learning means the I Promise School needed a less-traditional schedule. Teachers are on site from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the foundation funds an additional hour of afterschool programming from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Also, the school year starts four weeks before the rest of the buildings in the district, Liechty-Clifford noted. That approach is designed to minimize the loss of learning students can experience after a long break.

Teachers and administrators have had to be flexible to adapt to changes at the school. For example, the district was able to reach a scheduling agreement with the I Promise School teachers on the near-year-round model without raising costs, Liechty-Clifford said. Instead, there are more breaks and long weekends scheduled throughout the year. And the foundation supports the school with summer camps while class is out during the shortened summer break.

The school's approach to professional development has also changed.

"That was the major challenge and the major learning that I grasped over year one, is to understand that what looks great on paper doesn't always look great in reality," said principal Brandi Davis.

Initially, teachers were out of class for professional development for three hours every Wednesday. The school brought in substitute teachers who had been carefully interviewed and trained, but as the year went on, many of those subs got jobs elsewhere and were no longer available, Davis said. That started to cause management issues for classrooms and anxiety for students.

The school changed its approach, cutting down on the time teachers were in professional development and bringing in community partners to conduct programming and supplement the work of the substitutes.

This year, the I Promise School completely changed its approach to professional development. Instead of using substitute teachers, the school adopted a co-teaching model, allowing one teacher to stay with the students while the other goes to professional development. In addition, professional development takes place twice a month instead of every week, Davis said.

As the I Promise School evolves and adapts, Liechty-Clifford said Akron Public Schools is watching it for lessons that can be applied more systemically and broadly.

They aren't the only ones. The LeBron James Family Foundation wants the school to succeed for its students and families, Campbell said, but it also views the I Promise School as a potential model for how public schools can create "generational change." She said the foundation hopes that by meeting families where they are, the I Promise School could help solve some of the issues facing urban districts today.