When a student’s father came to Violet Elementary School’s then-principal, Becky Hornberger, in 2013 to suggest she check out a program to put more positive male role models in schools, she was intrigued.
She quickly found herself impressed by the Watch Dog Dads program and started a local chapter at Violet. Fast-forward three years, and there are 70 fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles and other father figures making periodic visits to Violet to give students more male figures to look up to.
The program is part of WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students), an international initiative of the National Center for Fathering. A total of 5,348 schools across 47 states – as well as China, Canada, Mexico and Barbados – have started their own WATCH D.O.G.S. chapters since the initiative began in 1998.
Its goals: to give students positive male role models whose presence demonstrates the importance of education, and to enhance school security and reduce bullying by their presence.
Hornberger knew the program had seen some success in Reynoldsburg City Schools, but it wasn’t until she saw a moving Today Show segment in which it was featured that she realized she had to have it at Violet.
“It really gets dads involved in the schools,” Hornberger says.
The school already saw a good deal of involvement from students’ mothers through its PTA, but fathers were, Hornberger says, something of an untapped resource. On top of that, a solid majority of staffers at Violet are – as is often the case at elementary schools – female.
That meant students had ample opportunity to interact with female role models, but comparatively few opportunities when it came to the opposite sex – particularly those children who are already lacking on that front. And male role models are important, Hornberger says, mentioning statistics that show inverse relationships between positive male figures and such pitfalls as teen pregnancy and dropouts.
Midway through the 2013-14 school year, Violet brought in a group of district fathers for doughnuts on a Saturday morning, then encouraged them to check out a calendar in the cafeteria and pick out a day or two to visit.
“The commitment is one full school day – or, if their kiddos are kindergartners, a half-day – they’re going to spend in the school,” says Hornberger.
Photos courtesy of Becky Hornberger
On a given dad’s day, he usually greets students as they come into the building, then is introduced by his child(ren) on the morning announcements. From there, he has his day scheduled for him, determining where he’ll be and when, with a building staffer guiding him at all times. Each father is briefed on expectations and safety measures.
Generally, a dad will visit at least one classroom at each grade level, as well as the library, gym, cafeteria and playground, all while students are present. They make sure the kids are following the rules and making good choices, Hornberger says.
“It’s very generalized activities that any dad would be able to do,” she says.
Most classroom visits come during enrichment and intervention time, often referred to as “E&I time” in Pickerington, which is a period when teachers work with students in small groups to give them more individualized attention. That gives program participants the chance to interact with the other students in the classroom – playing games, reading to them, doing writing exercises, presenting math facts, whatever the teacher needs.
Other activities including stocking books and reading aloud in the library, officiating sports on the playground, making sure no student is left out during lunchtime, helping out the custodial staff, setting up for evening events and handing out spirit sticks to children who they see exemplifying Violet values.
“They really become an integral part of our school environment,” Hornberger says.
A special Watch Dog Dads bulletin board hangs in the school, adorned with photos of visitors and their children.
Hornberger often gets feedback from fathers about how positive the experience was, and how much they now appreciate the teachers for the exhausting job they do.
“Many of those dads return for visits three or four times throughout the year,” Hornberger says. “I think our dads have had a really great experience with it, overall.”
Watch Dog Dads is not the only district program focused on positive male behavior. Tussing Elementary School has a separate program called Young Gents, aimed at giving third- and fourth-grade boys the skills and training they need to be gentlemen and leaders at school and in life.
Paul Tumidolsky, who has sons in fourth and seventh grades, has been involved with Watch Dog Dads since its inception at Violet, visiting the school several times a year to help out wherever he might be needed. He has a particular recollection of an incident in which he encouraged a student who had not done his homework to finish it in time to catch the end of recess, and was thanked afterward by an aide who noted that the student responded better when given that instruction by a fellow male.
“Kids would come up to me and talk to me about everything,” Tumidolsky says. “It’s another adult that they can trust.”
It benefits the school, too: The days on which the school has a Watch Dog Dad in attendance see fewer disciplinary referrals, for instance. It can also be helpful for any student who school staff know to be having a tough time, as the participant may be directed to work specifically with such a student.
“It really builds our kiddos up because it helps them feel important and helps them feel seen by an adult,” Hornberger says.
Hornberger left Pickerington Local Schools in June, but Watch Dog Dads is expected to continue on at Violet under new principal Dee Copas.
Not only is the program going strong at Violet, it’s migrated to other district schools as students and their fathers have. Violet feeds into Harmon and Toll Gate middle schools, and now, both schools have their own Watch Dog Dads programs.
Toll Gate has had the program for about six months. Participants there are involved with reading and intervention in the classroom, collaborate with leadership teams and have supervisory roles on the playground.
“They also work one-on-one with our students during E&I time,” says Principal Kara Jackson. “They help out in our library, they help out in our office, they help out in our cafeteria.”
Sign-ups work in much the same way, though at Toll Gate, participants only visit on Mondays and Fridays. There has been a group of 10 to 12 fathers who have been visiting consistently, and the school is working to increase participation, Jackson says, as the program has been improving connections among students.
“It’s been a great addition to our school programming,” she says.
Garth Bishop is managing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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