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Watch D.O.G.S. began attending Bonner Springs Elementary School on a regular basis after a Sept. 29 pizza event, where 90 new D.O.G.S. were formed.

The acronym stands for Dads of Great Students, and this is the first year BSE has participated in the program that allows fathers and father figures to attend school all day, assisting students with their classwork, monitoring the building and generally adding an element of security Watch D.O.G. Jason Schram said was badly needed in this day and age.

“We’re living in a society that’s not very stable right now,” Schram said following Monday night’s Board of Education meeting. “In addition to the poor economy … you really can’t trust people like you used to.”

During the meeting, BSE fifth-grade teacher and Watch D.O.G. coordinator Jim Hann gave an update regarding the program and how it has gone so far. He said that more than 150 people showed up to the pizza night, where pizzas were donated by Simple Simon’s and 90 fathers and father figures – including uncles, grandparents and “anyone who looks at themselves like a father,” as Hann said – signed up to become a Watch D.O.G.

“It’s well thought out, it’s an excellent program and I think we’re proud to be a part of it,” Hann said.

The program was started by Arkansas native Jim Moore, who was inspired by the 1998 middle school shooting in Jonesboro, Ark., that left five dead. Any interested father or father figure can sign up for the program, and Hann said they must sign up for at least one day a month. During that day, the Watch D.O.G.S. take part in such activities as assisting students on and off the bus, monitoring hallways and entranceways and eating lunch with the students. They also must visit at least three classrooms to give students encouragement and help them with whatever classroom activity they might be working on.

Hann said that while the safety element was an important one, the Watch D.O.G. program was also beneficial in providing fathers with an opportunity to play an active role in their child’s education.

“The elementary schools have long been perhaps off-limits to dads because it was assumed to be the mother’s venue,” Hann said. “So we’re turning that on its head and bringing the fathers in here as well. In some cases we’re working on changing that culture where the father has a negative image, either at home or at school, and turning that into a positive image.”

More of this story can be found in the Oct. 22 issue of the Chieftain.

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