Dads typically spend quality time with their sons during school sporting events or on hunting and camping trips.<\/p>\n
But the Watch Dog program at Dolores Schools is getting dads to participate in the classroom as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really grown in the first two years,\u201d said program coordinator Andy Bennetts. \u201cWe started out with 25 dads signed up, and last year we had 50 participants.\u201d<\/p>\n
After some training, dads sporting Watchdog T-shirts spend a day or more at the school helping out teachers and students, keeping an eye out for problems, and overseeing recesses.<\/p>\n
Watchdog Dads are announced on the intercom in the morning, stand post for the drop off, and assist in the classroom such as reading to kids, or helping a student with a problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing too involved so we don\u2019t scare them off,\u201d Bennetts said. \u201cThe kids love it and there is a lot of high-fiving going on with the dads. The teachers appreciate the help and clamor to get them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Watchdogs is a national program that started after a school disaster in Alabama inspired dads to become more involved inside the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mission is for students to interact with a positive male role model, and also to have an extra set of eyes for school safety,\u201d Bennetts said.<\/p>\n
Superintendent Scott Cooper is a Watchdog Dad as well. He said it helped to better bond with his son who\u2019s a student in Dolores.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have your dad show up in class makes the student proud, it makes it a special day, and gives dads a better perspective of what goes on in the classroom,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Parent Jake Huff also participates in the program each year.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo take a day off from the daily grind and see the world through the eyes of a student is informative and fun,\u201d he said. \u201cYou spend a lot of time throwing the football around, and you get a lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was assigned to classes in three different grade levels throughout the day, an experience that gave him perspective on what goes on in the school.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing how my child interacts with his schoolmates and teachers was also a plus,\u201d Huff said. \u201cI recommend it. Take some time and spend the day in the shoes of a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program is also open to uncles, grandparents, guardians, or male role models.<\/p>\n
For more information about how to sign up contact Bennett at doloreswatchdogs@gmail.com<\/a> Check out the Watchdog website at http:\/\/www.fathers.com\/watchdogs\/<\/p>\n