McWhorter Elementary Fourth Graders Participate in One-On-One Mentoring Program

McWhorter Elementary held its inaugural 90-minute session of the Academy 4 mentoring program for their fourth grade students on Sept. 30.

Academy 4, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is a leadership mentoring program for fourth graders that gives adult mentors an opportunity to make their community better by making a difference in the lives of children. Mentors are matched with one fourth grader who they visit once a month to build a positive relationship.

“Academy 4 is a one-on-one mentoring program that will meet once per month to provide each of our fourth graders with an opportunity to participate in spark clubs and work with a mentor to teach them leadership skills,” said Alex Klarer, McWhorter Elementary Positive Behavior Facilitator. “We are so excited to have the opportunity to provide this for our fourth graders because they deserve it.”

Founded in 2012, a core group of members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Fort Worth wanted to have a bigger impact on public schools. Over the course of several planning meetings, Academy 4 was created.

In CFB, volunteers come from all over the community. In total, McWhorter Elementary has 130 Academy 4 volunteer mentors.

“This is our first year of Academy 4 in CFBISD,” said Barb vonBehren, Academy 4 Site Coordinator. “One of the coolest things for me today is we have people coming from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Prince of Peace Christian School, and Creekview High School. We have Trane Technologies coming, Babe’s Chicken… to me, there's nothing more powerful than the community coming together to say, ‘we love you, we support you, we're here for you.’ That's what today is all about, just a whole community.”