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GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) — The two elementary schools in Glenwood are full of Dads Of Great Students.
A parent organization called Watch D.O.G.S. has taken roots at Northeast and West elementary schools after being imported from Millard Public Schools in Omaha.
Parent John Lee brought the program from Millard's Neihardt Elementary School, where he had children, launching the Glenwood program about three years ago. Watch D.O.G.S. brings fathers into school buildings to be role models, help students and be an extra pair of eyes to keep schools safe, The Daily Nonpareil reported (http://bit.ly/1zdc2Kx ).
Before the Watch D.O.G.S. program launched, most volunteers at the school were women, which Northeast Principal Joan Crowl said has only three male teachers out of about 70.
"We have a very strong volunteer program of moms and retired teachers and stay-at-home parents," she said. "In the past, before this program, most all of our volunteers - 90 percent - were female."
The Watch D.O.G.S. program doesn't compete with the predominately female parent-teacher association because the groups' focuses are different. The PTA hosts fundraisers to support field trips and provide more resources to the school, while the Watch D.O.G.S. group has a presence during the school day.
Fathers helping with Watch D.O.G.S. wear special T-shirts, and a photo with them and their child is put up at the school. All volunteers also have the chance to eat lunch with their student, providing an additional incentive.
"They don't stay attached to their child the whole day," Lee said. "We need to share them because that's their primary goal."
Volunteers help during lunch, monitor recess, read to students and interact with classrooms. Lee serves as the program's "Top Dog" at Northeast, and school board member Craig Patzer is the leader at West.
Lee said the program's volunteers are present at everything, such as a recent parent's university event where they handed out fliers. So many fathers want to be involved that volunteer shifts were made half days instead of the initial full day of school.
"We give out a big presence," he said. "It's really picked up, and the community has really embraced it."
More than 100 fathers have volunteered at each of the two schools. Crowl said some might only volunteer once a year, while some make repeat trips to spend time in the buildings.
The school library clerks schedule volunteers to come in for either morning or afternoon shifts. All volunteers pass a background check, Crowl said. In the past year, at least one dad was at each school each week, Lee said.
A kick-off event helps bring new volunteers into the program, along with a pizza dinner and free child care. This year's recruitment night for fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, guardians, uncles and others to the school is scheduled for Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. at West, 707 Sharp St.
Volunteers interested in learning more can also contact Lee via email at glenwoodwatchdogs@gmail.com, contact their child's school or search for the group "Glenwood Watch D.O.G.S." on Facebook.
"The national goal for the program is security," Lee said. "It started with two dads down in Arkansas. There were problems in the schools, and they just wanted to help out."
The program from the National Center for Fathering has grown from a single school in Springdale, Ark., in 1998 to more than 4,000 schools, including Northeast, which serves preschool through second-grade students, and West, which serves third- through fifth-graders.
Crowl said the Glenwood schools already have a lot of safeguards, but having volunteers helps teachers keep their focus on their classrooms while allowing others to support getting students to their rooms and keeping order in the buildings.
Having male role models in the schools is critical, she said, especially for children raised by single mothers or whose father is always busy.
"We really wanted the support of this program to build that male role model in our lives," Crowl said. "They serve a whole variety of purposes in our schools."
Frank Hannon, who provides operational support for the Watch D.O.G.S. national office, shared data showing the Glenwood program is the only active Watch D.O.G.S. group in southwest Iowa. The program has two schools near Sioux City participating, as well as several schools in central and eastern Iowa.
"These would be schools that have gone through the training," Hannon said. To be an official program, schools also have to purchase a $400 startup kit from the nonprofit national group.
In addition to the programs in Millard Public Schools in eastern Nebraska, the Watch D.O.G.S. program has been launched in Plattsmouth (Neb.) Elementary School, four Omaha Public Schools elementary buildings and in Fremont (Neb.) Public Schools, Hannon said.
Across the United States, the nonprofit lists more than 4,049 schools in 46 states and Puerto Rico with Watch D.O.G.S. programs, as well as programs based in schools in Canada, China, Mexico and Barbados.
Other schools in southwest Iowa are starting to take notice. Officials from Shenandoah and Red Oak have reached out, Lee said. Crowl said a grandfather from Red Oak makes the trek to Glenwood regularly to volunteer.
"It really helps with getting some more male role models in the school," Lee said. "We all just work hand-in-hand."
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Information from: The Daily Nonpareil, http://www.nonpareilonline.com
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