Faster than a speeding kickball, more powerful than a Tonka truck and able to leapfrog two first-graders in a single bound, the Watch D.O.G.S., a special group of volunteer dads, are gaining recognition throughout the Kent School District.
Created by the National Center For Fathering, the Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads Of Great Students) program began in 1998 as a way to involve positive male role models in school activities.
Spreading throughout the country, the program reached the school district a few years ago as one by one, eight individual elementary schools – Soos Creek, Covington, Fairwood, Park Orchard, Ridgewood, Crestwood, Springbrook, and Sunrise — slowly recruited dads to help out during the day.
“I wanted this program because of the fact that we just did not have a lot of men come in and volunteer,” said Patricia Drobny, principal of Soos Creek Elementary. “This is what we needed — a way for dads to engage and get involved.”
In the mornings at Soos Creek, the Watch D.O.G. dons his official T-shirt and an orange vest to help with morning drop-offs of students. Throughout the day, the Watch D.O.G. can find himself in any classroom in the building, testing students with flashcards or pulling kids out for individual reading time.
“I always have them in there trying to work with kids,” said Cindy McMullen, primary school teacher at Soos Creek.
Some of the volunteers come regularly, like Glen Akers who takes every Tuesday and Thursday off from work to be at his children’s school. Others come when they can, and the school accommodates any kind of commitment from a full day, half-day, or only a couple hours.
“I wish I could be there more often,” said Kyle Pifer, a kindergarten dad at Soos Creek who has volunteered twice this year. “Being able to be a good role model is reason why I go back.”
At Covington Elementary, Troy McIntyre, a father of three boys, comes in every chance he gets.
“I try to be the first to help out,” McIntyre said.
In the three years the program has been at Covington, McIntyre has played a crucial role in getting the program to grow. So far, Covington has had 64 Watch D.O.G.S. this year, twice as many as last year. But McIntyre said that’s only halfway to the school’s overall goal of 180 Watch D.O.G.S., one for every school day of the year.
The duties of a Watch D.O.G. vary depending on the school, but the two things most dads enjoy are the same two things most kids remember about elementary school: lunch and recess. The school schedules each Watch D.O.G. to eat lunch with his child and most men play at every recess.
“It reminds me of when I was in elementary school,” McIntyre said. “And I get to be a kid again.”
McIntyre says his involvement in the Watch D.O.G.S. program has spilled out into the community. If he wears his Watch D.O.G shirt when he’s off duty, children in the area still recognize him as a leader.
“I put on my Watch D.O.G. shirt (and) I almost feel like a super hero,” McIntyre said.
And he’s hoping his commitment to the children at Covington has a domino effect, creating generations of future leaders.
So if you find yourself wandering the hallways at one of these elementary schools and you need help, fear not, for these heroes of the hallway, the Watch D.O.G.S., are there to point you to the bathroom, wipe a teary eye and keep the students safe one day at a time.
Photos courtesy of Soos Creek and Covington Elementary Schools
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