Hi Gideon Parents!

My name is Debi Donaho and you may see my face around school this year. I'm the coordinator for Academy 4. I'll be working with the 4th grade teachers to bring each of their students a mentor this year. Unlike other mentoring programs where kids are nominated and chosen, Academy 4 provides volunteer mentors to every single 4th grader at Gideon. Academy 4 is in over 50 schools throughout DFW, but Imogene Gideon is the first school in MISD to have Academy 4.

We want to be sure each of our 84 4th graders has a mentor, who will meet with them one Friday a month. If you know someone who could mentor (parents with flexible schedules, grandparents, retirees, high school juniors & seniors, college-students, church and civic groups, etc.) please encourage them to join us. We have many community partners who often allow employees time away to mentor. Some of them include: Alcon, Frost Bank, Ft. Worth Police Department, Texas Health, Whitley Penn, Catholic Charities, Southside Bank, FWISD, First Tee, Watermark Church, 3M, Bank of Texas, Hiley Buick GMC. Farmer's Insurance, Central Market & HEB, and Timberview Farms.

Here are the details: 👉🏼 Spend 90 minutes ONCE/ month focusing on leadership. ⏰1-2:30 PM one Friday a month 📝There is nothing to plan. Academy 4 provides it all. The 90 minutes consists of mentors helping their students with a leadership lesson, playing games, and solving puzzles. 🏫 Academy 4 is currently in 50 elementary schools in DFW, and Gideon Elementary is the 1st school in MISD to have this program. 📆 The schedule is already set for the 2024-2025 school year: 1-2:30 PM on the following Fridays: 9/27, 10/25, 11/22, 12/6, 1/31, 2/28, 3/28, 4/25, and 5/2. 😉 don't worry, there are substitutes in case a mentor needs to miss a session.

Let me know if you have questions - I'd love to share more! You can sign up to mentor here: https://academy4.org/imogene-gideon