Gary Randall calls himself “the biggest kid in school.”
The 62-year-old Randall, an Army retiree, has been at Rogers’ Joe Mathias Elementary every day since school started last month — giving high-fives to children as they arrive, reading to them, playing with them at recess or just sharing a laugh with them.
He’s not a teacher or administrator. Randall participates in Watch DOGS (Dads of Great Students), a program that started in Northwest Arkansas 14 years ago and has since spread throughout much of the country.
The program aims to bring men — fathers, grandfathers and uncles — into the schools on a volunteer basis in part to provide extra security, but also to give children male role models.
Randall was a Watch DOGS grandfather at Reagan Elementary in Rogers for six years, starting in 2000 when his granddaughter was at the school. He returned to the program this year at Mathias Elementary, where his grandson is enrolled.
Principal Betsy Kinkade raves about Randall’s impact on the school and its kids, most of whom know him simply as “Papa Dog.”
“We have seen him since the first day of school, and he doesn’t leave until the last bell rings,” Kinkade said. “He’s such a blessing.”
Randall serves as “that extra set of eyes” on campus, Kinkade said, but just as important is what he does to lift students’ morale.
“There’s just a very positive spirit about him, and that has really made a difference to some of our kids,” she said.
Like most elementary schools, Mathias is staffed largely by women. Only two men work as teachers. Randall said he believes the students “need to see another guy around the school.”
“I’ve got one that comes and talks to me periodically, a fifth-grader, and he doesn’t have a dad,” Randall said. “I hope I can instill some things in him.”
Kinkade said she agrees the male influence is important.
“We have to have that because we just don’t have it in so many families across the nation,” she said.
Fast Facts
2003 Survey
A 2003 survey by Watch DOGS of 50 participating schools found:
89 percent agreed Watch DOGS was a valuable component of the school’s efforts to promote a safe and positive learning environment for students.
79 percent agreed since implementing the program, the school has experienced an increase in father involvement in areas other than Watch DOGS.
Source: Staff Report
How It Started
Two boys, ages 11 and 13, opened fire on their classmates and teachers at their school near Jonesboro on March 24, 1998. Four students and one teacher died; several more were injured.
Then-Springdale resident Eric Snow received a call from friend and fellow parent Jim Moore that evening. Snow and Moore both had children at Springdale’s George Elementary at the time.
Upset by the shootings, Moore told Snow he felt like he needed to be in their children’s school the next day. Moore was interested in getting other fathers to come in as well, Snow said.
Within the next day or two, Snow and Moore were in Principal Jim Lewis’ office organizing the group that originally was called “Dads of George Students.”
Word of the program spread quickly, especially after Lewis presented the idea at a principals conference in Little Rock that fall. As the program gained popularity, Moore established a Watch DOGS nonprofit organization, which he helped lead until 2006.
Watch DOGS is now in 2,400 schools in 41 states, plus the District of Columbia. Another 300 schools are in the process of launching their Watch DOGS program, Snow said. The program’s national office is still in Springdale, though it falls under the umbrella of the National Center for Fathering, based in Shawnee Mission, Kan. Snow has been Watch DOGS’ executive director since 2008.
Snow now lives near Pittsburg, Kan., and travels to Springdale several times each month.
A school may acquire a Watch DOGS startup kit for $350, which provides everything needed to launch and sustain the program, Snow said. The national office provides training for participants.
Snow said studies show the presence of men in a child’s life makes a positive difference in his or her education. Watch DOGS also may have an impact on disciplinary problems.
“Principals tell us time and time again, when you invite these guys in and put a dad in a hallway or on the playground, discipline problems drop dramatically,” Snow said. “It just changes the environment having these dads there.”
Effectiveness Varies
Watch DOGS might be more effective at the elementary grade level than at later levels of schooling. Woodland Junior High in Fayetteville has participated in Watch DOGS in the past, but currently does not.
“Our students are 13 to 15 years old,” said Anita Lawson, Woodland principal. “I think they’re going into a stage where they don’t really want their parents in school.”
Lawson supports the program and said she’s open to trying it again at Woodland.
While not all schools have a Watch DOGS program, others have adopted programs similar to it.
In Bentonville, R.E. Baker Elementary has the Bobcat Dads and Willowbrook Elementary has the Pachyderm Protectors. Both programs are named after the schools’ respective mascots, and both are similar to Watch DOGS, said Mary Ley, Bentonville district spokeswoman.
Any Worries?
Bringing male mentors into children’s lives could be viewed negatively in light of the recent scandal surrounding former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky was convicted in June of numerous counts related to molestation of children whom he met through a nonprofit charity he established.
Snow acknowledges the fears someone like Sandusky could join a Watch DOGS program, but he is confident in the children’s safety.
“The vast majority of men in this country are not pedophiles,” Snow said.
Besides, he said, volunteers always work in the presence of a teacher or administrator.
“This program has tripled in size in the last four years, and the guys who show up at school to help out are exactly the kind of people who you want to come in,” Snow said. “We’ve never had a case in 14 years where a guy caused any concern or any trouble.”
A Busy Morning
Gary Bohannan works for the Springdale Fire Department and has three kids in the city’s schools. He has served a few days per year as a Watch DOGS father for the past decade.
He was at it on Friday, working at Hunt Elementary School in Springdale, where his son is a fifth-grader. His day took him from classroom to classroom, helping teachers with various activities. He played Sight Word Bingo with second-graders. He helped some third-grade boys study for a spelling test. In a fifth-grade classroom, Bohannan supervised students briefly while the teacher took a call from a parent. He also worked one-on-one with a first-grade autistic boy, helping him take a math test.
That was all before lunch.
Madison Moreland, 10, a fifth-grader at Hunt, said she thinks the Watch DOGS program is “pretty cool.”
“Sometimes they pull us out of class and we get to play some games, like math bingo,” Madison said.
She said Bohannan is a neighbor.
“He’s really nice, he’s really fun to hang around,” Madison said.
Bohannan’s son, Caden, said he likes Watch DOGS as well.
“You get to meet new people and they help us with our multiplication and division,” Caden said.
Bohannan used to serve as a substitute teacher across the district. His favorite level was elementary school.
“They don’t get that male influence very often,” Bohannan said. “I’m a pretty big boy anyway. They respond to me. They respect authority. Having that male role model in the schools, I think it’s a good thing for kids. You hope the little time you get to spend with them will make some kind of difference.”