Van Buren County Schools launching a new therapy dog program to support the mental health and morale of students and staff.
Director of Schools Katina Simmons said she researched the program by speaking with officials in other school districts that already utilize therapy animals to understand the specific advantages of the service.
“Our, one of our teachers, Ms. Jamie Lowery, who’s also our CTE director, she came to me with the idea and proposed it as something that she thought would be beneficial for our school and our students, our staff as well,” Simmons said. “I had been to some other districts that had, also has a therapy dog program and talked to some other folks, principals, teachers, directors of schools about the, the benefits of that program.”
Simmons said the district decided to move forward with the plan because they want to provide support to students and staff whenever possible. Simmons said the timing was right to introduce a tool that can help the school community navigate various challenges.
“Well, anytime that we can do anything to help benefit our staff and students, you know, we, we of course want to do that,” Simmons said. “Just a good time, you know, a lot, lots of different things going on and, and just anytime we can help students and support them in any way, it’s, we always want to do that.”
Simmons said the therapy dog, named Oakley, will interact with students during breaks and unstructured time provided that parents have signed a formal agreement. Simmons said school counselors can also request “pop-in” visits for students who are identified as having a difficult day.
“Well, I, I mean, I would say, you know, everyone, when you have a therapy dog, what have you, it just kind of uplifts people’s mood and gives them a, a little pause, a little break and, and just makes people feel better, better in general,” Simmons said.
Simmons said the district will measure the success of the program through feedback from mental health staff and school counselors who interact with students daily. Simmons said Lowery will work in conjunction with those professionals to gauge how the dog is impacting the school environment.
“Our staff, there have been some, some days when Ms. Jamie has brought in Oakley, our new therapy dog, for some additional trainings, just to be kind of around the staff at central office,” Simmons said. “It’s been very positive. Everyone’s very excited about the aspect of that and the prospect of interacting with our students and staff just to build the morale.”
Simmons said the district currently plans to utilize only one therapy dog.
Oakley is scheduled to begin full-time service at the start of the next school year.
