Former NBA Star Kevin Johnson Seeks to Give Young People Hope

Some pro athletes don't know what to do when they retire. That was not the case with former NBA star Kevin Johnson, who said on the Oprah Winfrey Show that he knew he wanted to do other things in life than play basketball. Before retiring from the Phoenix Suns in 2000, the former point guard won the right to convert Sacramento (California) High School into a charter school, run by his faith-based St. Hope Corporation. The school had been plagued by plummeting test scores, student apathy, and a deteriorating campus. At the six separate schools on the 10-acre campus, a curriculum has been designed to meet student needs.

Johnson, a three time NBA All Star, raised more than $7 million from big-name donors, such as Bill Gates. It may be too soon to give firm results, but enrollment has again started to rise and was up to 1,650 students, with a waiting list of 100 more, as of the writing of an article in People Magazine, December 15, 2003. An excerpt from the article was on the St. Hope website, www.sthope.com. Johnson said he, his grandfather, his mother, and his father, all went to Sacramento High School, and it was worth fighting to keep and improve. He said enrollment has risen because the bar was raised for academics.

In 2005 Kevin Johnson and his St. Hope Foundation began renovating several blocks in Oak Park, the former star's old neighborhood. They helped fix homes, drive out drug dealers, and encouraging Starbucks and other stores to move into the neighborhood. Still, while many welcomed the changes to the neighborhood, not everybody did. Members of the Sacramento City Teachers Association and about 40 parents tried to block the moves, with some objecting to the fact that St. Hope was faith-based. Marcie Launey, president of the Teachers Association said her group sees Johnson as a philanthropist, not an educator.

"The fight we fought was worth fighting," says Johnson on the foundation website, of the school where only 20 percent of students read at grade school level. "Now there's a waiting list, and it's all because we raised the bar."