I Promise: LeBron James opens new school in hometown of Akron

AKRON, Ohio (KTRK) -- Although he recently left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Lakers, LeBron James will always have a connection with his home state of Ohio. James and the LeBron James Family Foundation opened the I Promise School Monday morning for at-risk children in the Akron area, which is part of a partnership with the city.

The school is currently open for 240 third and fourth graders. It is expected to have first through eighth graders by 2022.

There are certain features of the school that stand out. As soon as you walk in, one can see numerous game-worn shoes from James along with murals of activists such as Martin Luther King Jr., Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali. The staircase also has the LeBron James Family Foundation and I Promise School logos.

James recently took to Uninterrupted, his media platform, to discuss the motivation behind opening a school for the underprivileged. He said he might know the children better than they know themselves.

"I walked the same streets. I rode the same bikes on the streets that they ride on. I went through the same emotions. The good, the bad, the adversity. Everything these kids are going through, the drugs, the violence, the guns, everything they're going through as kids, I know."

James also discussed missing multiple 83 days of school in the fourth grade due to family problems. Many are aware of James' upbringing, being raised by a single mother, Gloria James. She was only 16-years-old when James was born.

The I Promise School is STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) certified. When watching James dominate the game of basketball, one can see him always wearing an "I Promise" wristband.

James has always made his philantrophic work a priority, as he has stated multiple times he is more than an athlete.