Fathers stepping up at Fayetteville PK-8

Oct. 7—FAYETTEVILLE — Dads are being asked to step up and be great for their children.

Fayetteville PK-8 held a kickoff pizza event on Sept. 27 for the WATCH D.O.G.S.® (Dads of Great Students) program.

"Fayetteville Elementary had it years ago," Fayetteville PK-8 counselor Tamara Banks said. "It is the first year at Fayetteville PK-8 (which has been in existence for four years)."

According to Banks, the program is "designed to get dads involved in their schools, because moms are already involved. ... Moms are the ones that get all the information, but this is a way to get dads more involved."

The school plans to have a kickoff event annually and to ask the fathers or father figures of its students to help out in different fashion at the school.

"What we ask our dads is to donate one day a year to volunteer in their child's school, and they'll spend that day in their child's classroom helping out with flash cards, spelling or whatever the teacher needs," explained Banks, who oversees the program with fellow counselor Adrian Heatherly and a team of parents led by Matt Diederich. "They'll help out on the playground, they'll help out at lunch duty, help out morning duty and dismissal. Like I said, another set of eyes and ears."

The response has been good, she said. "The dads love it, and the kids love it. The kids are super proud."

"Dads will take off a week for hunting, so we think maybe they don't take the whole week off for hunting," said Banks, who originally participated in the program as a counselor at Collins Middle School. "Maybe take one of those days and come to your child's school.

"It's also a community building event, because we are the heart of the community."

"I do know there's been a resurgence of the program, especially in Texas after the Uvalde shooting," Banks continued. "It's security, it's safety, it's community building and it's also bonding with your child."

Former Collins Middle School parent Don Elder, of Fayetteville, was among those who was on hand participating as a father last week.

"I think it's a good program just for the importance of the dads getting involved with their kids in the school system," said Elder, who attended with his son, second-grader Kayden. "They look up to you."

The program helps create a "less stressful day for a lot of them to see their dads in the hallways of their schools," said Elder, who also took part in the program with his oldest son, Devon, at Collins Middle. "We see in the news all the time the stuff going on in schools, and we see the extra dads in the school. I think it kind of eases their minds a little bit."

Kayden Elder said Thursday he was having fun and was glad to have his father by his side.

"I've been a principal for quite some time, and this is the first time that I've seen this many dads in a room other than at a sporting event," said Fayetteville PK-8 Principal Melissa Harrah. "We're really happy to have our male parental figures out to be supportive of the school and be involved in ways that promote safety, that promote positive relationships, and that promote involvement in the school."

Harrah also praised the presence of Fayetteville Police Department Patrolman Luther Crisp, the school's prevention resource officer (PRO). "If we need him, he's there," she said of Crisp. Harrah also thanked the Town of Fayetteville as it "stepped up" to fund Crisp's position.

Local businesses such as Domino's and New River Health helped make the pizza night event possible.

According to an informational handout, the program was created by parents and educators at a single school in 1998 and has since grown to be "one of the largest and most respected family and community engagement initiatives in the country."

Program benefits include having a positive male role model for the child, giving an extra set of eyes and ears to school staff, and allowing the fathers or father figures to see that they can have a positive impact on their child's life.

For more information on the WATCH D.O.G.S. program, call 1-888-540-3647, email info@dadsofgreatstudents.com or visit dadsofgreatstudents.com.

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