FATHERS AS SCHOOL WATCHDOGS

By Glenn Greenwood, TASPA Communications

Throughout the United States and here in Texas, fathers and grandfathers are supplementing school campus personnel and security resource officers to keep our schools safe, thereby adding to the number of volunteers performing key services for campuses.

The program, WATCH D.O.G.S. Across America®, was founded in 1998 following a middle-school shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas.  Arkansas now puts volunteer fathers and grandfathers on school campuses during the school day to help boost security and to provide male role models for students.

According to the WATCH D.O.G.S. Across America® National Director Scott Huse, “the program is in place in more than 400 schools in more than 35 states.” According to Huse, “there are currently 11 active programs in Texas with plans for 16 more to start in the next couple of months.”

Some of the things the WatchDog fathers do include: meeting the students as they unload from cars and buses in the morning, assisting teachers in classes, acting as cafeteria and recess monitors, ascertaining that campuses are secure by monitoring school grounds and hallways, and making sure that exterior doors are secure.

In the Leander Independent School District (LISD), there are about 90 dads participating in the program. LISD Executive Director of School & Community Relations Bill Britcher said, “We are very happy with the WatchDog program at Cox Elementary, and we have a number of other elementary principals who are considering adding it to their campuses, perhaps even in mid-year.”  Birtcher added, “Just the idea of having a dad on campus helping out in a number of areas and keeping an eye out for doors that may be open helps with the security. It also helps to have dads on campus as male role-models for the students.”

Fathers who participate in the program usually are scheduled to work one full day each week at their children’s school. The participants are required to follow a strict schedule in the school to which they are assigned, and to wear a WatchDog t-shirt while on duty in the schools. School districts are responsible for doing background checks on the volunteers in the program according to their school district’s local policies.

Part of the National Center for Fathering, a corporate- and foundation-funded organization that promotes responsible fatherhood, the WatchDogs program is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational organization that is sponsored nationally by Tyson Foods, Inc.

More information on becoming a part of the WatchDog program can be obtained by visiting the WATCH D.O.G.S. Across America® website or by calling toll free at 1-888-540-3647.

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