In a few weeks the teachers and administrators of Mayflower Elementary School will have a little extra help in classrooms and around the campus.
Eddie York and Mike Raney have organized the beginning of the Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program in Mayflower and soon dads, grandfathers, uncles and other men in the community will help ensure the safety of the students.
The main reason Raney said he and York wanted to bring this program to Mayflower was to bring more character education to the students.
"We need more character education programs in the school and really the teachers and administrators are busy running the school and they need help with these kinds of programs," Raney said. "And the Watch D.O.G.S. program is just one of the few things we want to get started."
Raney said they have yet to create an itinerary for the specific duties of these watch dogs, but the dads will basically be doing anything the principals and teachers need them to do.
"It will be anywhere from helping load and unload buses, helping with recess on the playgrounds or if a teacher wants them to read to the class or walk the halls, they can do that," Raney said. "They're not only there to support the staff, they are also an extra set of eyes to keep an eye on things."
Watch D.O.G.S. have been on a few of the elementary school campuses in the Conway School District for a few years and Raney said he attended one of their kick-off parties and was pretty impressed.
So Tuesday Raney and York thew a kick-off party of their own to see if any of the men in Mayflower would be interested and Raney said he was thrilled with the turnout.
"We had about 65 men and 120 kids show up to the kick-off party," Raney said Friday. "And I've already heard from several dads who couldn't make it to the party but want to be involved with the program, so I think we'll have a group of 75 that we can start with."
Raney added this group of men, along with anyone else who wants to participate, will finish out the 2007-08 school year and another kick-off event will be held in the fall to give more dads an opportunity to help.
Anyone who is interested in participating in the Mayflower Elementary Watch D.O.G.S. program can find contact information at the school campus, he said.
(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net.)
