LeBron James expanded his foundation's education program, now includes degree program for parents

Last month, basketball super star LeBron James announced his foundation had formed a partnership with the University of Akron. Kids who complete the multi-year program will receive free tuition at the university. There are currently 1,000 children enrolled in the "I Promise" program, which was created to target poor, at-risk children in Ohio.

Now the LeBron James Foundation is launching the "I Promise, Too" program—which aims to get the parents of his "I Promise" kids back into school with a GED program:

In the new program, enrollees received an inspirational letter from the Cavaliers superstar basketball player, HP laptop computers that they can keep if they finish the classes, and free bus passes and parking to attend class.

Participants will also have covered the $6 cost to take the GED practice test and $120 cost for taking the entire, official GED exam. The foundation will also provide prizes for good attendance, work progress, and other achievements.

Alexia Harris, communications manager for Project Learn, said the incentives from the program are likely to make an enormous difference:

"It takes a lot of courage to start classes to earn GED once you've been out of school for years, even decades," Harris said. "Definitely, things can get in the way of completing the process, things like work or family issues. With the LeBron foundation, we're working with these parents to be as accommodating as we can, and the incentives can help. The laptops, for instance, that's a cost to them that they won't have to bear."