{"id":451441,"date":"2026-09-29T20:42:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T20:42:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/451441\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T20:42:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T20:42:07","slug":"disney-dreamers-academy-pilot-program-to-give-200-middle-schoolers-from-houston-orlando-miami-and-atlanta-new-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/451441\/","title":{"rendered":"Disney Dreamers Academy: Pilot program to give 200 middle schoolers from Houston, Orlando, Miami, and Atlanta, new opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Disney Dreamers Academy is evolving to expand its reach to more students thanks to a new partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more than 20 years, Disney Dreamers Academy<\/a> has given 100 high school students annually the chance to visit the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, learning leadership skills and providing professional opportunities.<\/p>\n

Now Disney is tweaking the program and going multi-year.<\/p>\n

Disney says the new Disney Dreamers Academy is a pilot program that will focus on middle school students in the Houston, Orlando, Atlanta and Miami metro areas.<\/p>\n

The first class of Disney Dreamers will include 200 students from those four areas and will be announced in October.<\/p>\n

The pilot program begins in January 2027.<\/p>\n

Disney says the program will incorporate values that Boys & Girls Clubs are known for, including a commitment to community service.<\/p>\n

“This next chapter is about meeting students where they are and helping them discover what’s possible for their future at an earlier age,” said Tajiana Ancora-Brown, Director of External Affairs at Disney.<\/p>\n

Students in the Disney Dreamers Academy will take part in experiences designed to help their personal and academic growth and become better citizens of the world.<\/p>\n

They will take part in year-round programming, exploring a variety of subjects and career paths that are led by Disney Cast Members.<\/p>\n

Dreamers will also take part in a mentorship program, connecting them with Cast Members and fellow Dreamers.<\/p>\n

Disney magic will be central to the Dreamers Academy with participants experiencing Disney at their local Boys & Girls Clubs and with a visit to Walt Disney World in Florida.<\/p>\n

“Programs like this create the exposure and opportunities that help our young people dream beyond their circumstances and see new possibilities for their future,” said Jamie Merrill, President & CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida.<\/p>\n

Disney says the company is making an investment in participating Boys & Girls Clubs during the program’s first two years.<\/p>\n

That covers the rest of the current school year as well as the 2027-2028 school year.<\/p>\n

Disney is the parent company of ABC13.<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Disney Dreamers Academy is evolving to expand its reach to more students thanks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[155238,56,58,57],"class_list":["post-451441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-155238","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}