- Students at Mason High School tell me that having a dog in the building is helping them stay focused and motivated.
- The dogs have been in the district for over a year.
- Video shows what impact the dogs are having in Mason public schools.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
In Mason schools, some four-legged friends are making a big difference in students' lives.
A senior at Mason High School, Anthony Kilgore, says sometimes you just need a break.
“Away from sitting and working constantly, it gives me a second away from my assignments,” Kilgore said.
Kilgore tells me that having dogs like these in school every day is helping him stay focused and motivated.
“Everyone really is happy to be here,” he said.
He says the dogs also helped to improve mental health.
“There’s just a better attitude in the school,” Kilgore said.
The dogs were brought to the district over a year ago, two to start before two more came to other schools in the district. School officials tell me that all the dogs have sponsors from the community, and leaders say they aren’t just impacting students but also making a difference to faculty and the district as a whole.
“I think there was a social and emotional health need,” said Erik Cargill, who handles Sully, the Mason Middle School dog.
He tells me that the dogs help show students that teachers are people too, making it easier to get students to follow instruction.
“Younger kids have that ideology that teachers are just teachers,” Cargill said.
His colleague, who handles one of the elementary dogs, even says these dogs are impacting attendance.
“We’ve definitely seen an increase in attendance because those kids get lunch with Coco that day,” the handler said.
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