Huge turnout of Watch D.O.G.S. at PCES
Well over 400 men turned out Aug. 24 for the kick-off of the new Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program at Putnam County Elementary School, ready to help in any way they could.
The turnout was a record-breaker as far as the project's regional coordinator knew. Keith Schumacher of Acworth advised the dads that because of their involvement in their children's school lives, they can expect to see a bigger difference in students' behavior and academic performance this year.
"Line up, sign up, show up," said Schumacher, "and you'll be rewarded."
The school had 1,300 slices of pizza on hand, but there were so many people that organizers had to order more.
The crowd saw a 10-minute Watch D.O.G.S. video presentation which showed all the ways they could be useful at school so, as the commentator said, the program helps dads feel not only welcomed but needed.
After the children went off to play Bingo and other games, Schumacher, who is Southeast Regional Coordinator of the program, took the floor.
Schumacher said he'd never seen such a turnout anywhere he had spoken. He shared his own experience of getting involved in the program and seeing the impact of Watch D.O.G.S. in his own children's schools.
He said after he'd been coming to one teacher's classroom for a while, she said to him, "The kids act differently when you're here. I can't put my finger on it, except that they are a little more well-behaved."
"All we're asking is for you to give the school one day," Schumacher said. "But I'll tell you, I think you're going to enjoy doing this, enjoy being a positive role model, and you get to eat lunch with your kid."
He said the Watch D.O.G.S. program is available to any school, kindergarten through 12th grade, public or private, and is an inexpensive program to launch. Watch D.O.G.S. was founded by Jim Moore of Springdale, Ark., soon after the Jonesboro, Ark., school shooting March 24, 1998. The program has since grown to 39 states, more than 1,660 schools, including, Schumacher said, about 27 in Georgia.
He said that Watch D.O.G.S. are often encouraged to pay attention to kids whose fathers are away serving in the military or who have no father figure in their lives.
"Either you are going to influence your child's life," Schumacher said, "or someone or something else will. It's up to you. Volunteer at a school event. Mentor or coach or just exercise with the children. Read to kids, do flash cards, play educational games, help with homework."
Even before the kick-off meeting, 30 men had signed up and had already bought Watch D.O.G.S. shirts to wear that evening.
About a dozen Beta Club members from Putnam County High School volunteered their time, serving beverages and entertaining the students while the men listened to the Watch D.O.G.S. presentation.
The PCES program calls its leaders Top Dogs and the Top D.O.G.S. team is PCES Principal Raymond Braziel; and male faculty members: fourth-grade math teacher and chairman of Watch DOGS team, Donald (Dermid) Harris; fourth-grade social studies teacher and Top Dog vice chair Titus Dunn; fifth-grade social studies teacher Rick Allen; Randy Rogers writing teacher and media coordinator for Watch DOGS; music teacher Richard Pruitt; and two paraprofessionals, Richard Davis and Walter Butler.
The first four men to sign up as Watch DOGS when they heard of the program were on duty Aug. 6, the first day of school at PCES. They are Dr. Al Mead, a GCSU professor; Darrell Powers, Taliaferro County Sheriff's Office investigator; Larry Isenberg, retired VA hospital administrator; and Gary Walker, with Pactiv.
Isenberg has volunteered as a math tutor every Friday for the past six years in Whitney Brown's fifth-grade class.
Those who register to be in the program can purchase Watch D.O.G.S shirts for themselves, starting at about $12.
After the announcement of the kick-off meeting appeared in The Messenger Aug. 19, the school got 475 calls about the program by the end of the next school day, according to Amelia McMullen, PCES counselor and one of the organizers of the local Watch D.O.G.S.
McMullen had heard about the program at counselor conferences before and decided last spring to try to start one. She talked to Braziel, who told her how to get Title 4 funding, sent for start-up materials and talked to male faculty members, who all volunteered to help get Watch D.O.G.S. going at PCES.
Rogers, the PCES writing teacher who emceed the meeting Tuesday night, said, "I've been an educator for 30 years, so I've seen lots of programs come and go in schools, but I've never seen anything like Watch D.O.G.S.
"Many folks who work with students every day know how important it is for kids to have a good relationship with their dad or other significant adult males," Rogers said. "The Watch D.O.G.S. will give kids an opportunity to see their dad in a different role, in their school, and for so many kids who don't have a dad or father-figure in their lives, these men can have a huge, positive influence."
For more information about Watch D.O.G.S. e-mail Schumacher at kschumacher@fathers.com or visit www.fathers.com and click on the Watch D.O.G.S. icon.
