02/21/2007
Tails to tell
By David Logan
When an English Spaniel named Diamond Jim won the top dog award at this year's prestigious Westminster Dog Show, his owner announced that Diamond Jim, better known as James, would be retiring to live the life of a therapy dog.
King, a rescued collie/husky mix originally from Pittsburgh and now living in Ocean Pines may not be a dog show winner but he sure has caused Showell Elementary to go to the dogs. King is a therapy dog with over 800 hours at the Berlin Nursing Home; he also is the first dog in Worcester County approved for an in-school program with children who need assistance with their reading skills. King is owned by Jack and Andrea Barnes and it was Jack's sister Ann Barnes, who initiated a reading program at the Syracuse Library with her dog, Ted, and encouraged her brother to start a similar program with King.
When the Worcester County Library Board decided it was not interested in the reading program, Jack presented it to a progressive special education teacher named Liz Scott. Mrs. Scott, with enthusiastic support from Showell Elementary Principal Paula Jones, received approval for the reading program last year; permission slips were sent out early this year to parents of children who have challenges with reading. The response was overwhelming. Liz Scott and fellow special ed teacher Carolyn LaRosa set up 20-minute appointments during which a student reads to King on a one-on-one basis. Nine special ed students are currently in the program and to date a total of 22 reading sessions have been completed with King.
After each session the students keep track of their progress on a chart by advancing a dog-marker from their own photo along a set of paw prints toward a dog house they have drawn. After completing 10 sessions the students earn a certificate of achievement complete with their picture with King and a paw print of approval.
Why the dog reading program works so well across the country is still somewhat of a mystery. It has been suggested that children who have trouble reading are embarrassed to read in front of others. A dog diverts the center of attention away from the child, is non judgmental and enables the children to relax.
King is helpful even when not at school as the teachers can use his reading session as a reward to encourage students to practice their reading skills during the week. "I really enjoy the time with the students," said Jack. "They work very hard when reading to King, and thanks to Liz and Carolyn, I have also learned some teaching skills such as helping the students to sound out difficult words. I can't say enough about how great these students are, and it is wonderful to watch the effort they put in to improve their reading skills each week. Some have even written letters to King. I was concerned that the students' enthusiasm might wear off after a few sessions but the children really look forward to their reading time with King."
Jack said that he also has a new-found appreciation for special ed teachers. "I only come in three days a week for about an hour each time and as rewarding as it is, it can be tiring. I can only imagine how they must feel after a whole teaching day. These teachers really care about giving their students all the opportunities possible." The special ed teachers' dedication is underlined by the fact that the dog-reading program added additional work to their already busy schedule.
Principal Paula Jones is already interested in introducing more dogs into Showell Elementary to visit the regular classrooms. King has also contacted one of his friends to assist in the reading program. Rumor even has it that Superintendent Jon Andes may bring his own collie for a visit to Showell in the near future. It is not hard to understand why Showell Elementary was named a Blue Ribbon School even if it is going to the dogs….figuratively speaking that is.
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Uploaded: 2/21/2007
