What is WATCH D.O.G.S.?
WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads Of Great Students) is an innovative father involvement, educational initiative of the National Center For Fathering. It began in 1998 in a single school in Springdale, Arkansas, and has since grown into a nationally recognized program that has brought hundreds of thousands of fathers and father figures into our nation’s classrooms and hallways. Learn more about Watch D.O.G.S. here
What are the goals of a WATCH D.O.G.S. program?
1) To provide positive male or adult role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important.
2) To provide extra sets of eyes and ears to enhance school security and reduce bullying.
**Watch Dog duty does not involve spending the entire day in the classroom with your student. If you are looking to volunteer on campus in other capacities, please schedule that with PTO directly.
Who are WatchDOGS and how does WATCH D.O.G.S. work?
WATCH D.O.G.S. is a K-12 program, invites fathers, grandfathers, uncles, father figures, or any special adult involved in a student's life to volunteer at least one day at their child’s/student’s school during the school year. The program is overseen by “Top Dog” volunteers who partner with the school administrator to coordinate scheduling and identify opportunities for WatchDOGS to assist at the school. WatchDOG volunteers perform a variety of tasks during their volunteer days.
What do WatchDOGS do (while they are at school)?
During the day, WatchDOGS may patrol the school entrances, hallways, and building perimeter, ensure all visitors sign-in and sign out, assist with traffic flow at arrival and dismissal, assist with monitoring the lunchroom, interact with students at recess, help school staff and teachers, when needed, with projects and/or academic groups, and any other assigned activities where they actively engage with not only their own students but other students as well.
How long is a WatchDOGS volunteer shift?
We encourage all WatchDOGS to volunteer for the entire day if you can. We understand if you can only volunteer for a couple of hours and ask that you sign up for the amount of time that best fits with your schedule. Please feel free to sign up for multiple days throughout the year.
For questions, please contact our Top Dog, MJ Laudenslager via email at watchdogs@billburdenpto.org. Please also see the attachment below for more details!
HOW TO SIGN UP AS A WATCH D.O.G.S.®:
We welcome any special adult in a Bill Burden Elementary student's life to volunteer. Please follow these steps to sign up as a WatchDog:
Step 1: In order to volunteer at any LHISD school campus, you must first complete and submit the LHISD online volunteer application.
Libery Hill ISD Volunteer Application
Step 2: Schedule your shift by emailing BBE Top Dog MJ Laudenslager at watchdogs@billburdenpto.org. Provide your first and last name, phone number, the date you plan to volunteer, and your student(s)’ name, grade, and teacher.
Step 3: You will receive an email confirming your volunteer date.
Step 4: Order a WatchDOGS shirt to wear on your volunteer day (order info below)
NOTE: If you choose not to wear a WatchDog shirt, we will have a safety vest for you to wear. The shirts and vest increase our visibility for students and teachers.
Step 5: When you arrive at school for your scheduled day, please sign in at the front office, review the daily schedule and ensure the grade schedule is correct. Take a picture with your student(s) to hang on our Wall of Fame. Have fun!
Step 6: Once you have completed your volunteer day, please fill out our online BBE Watch D.O.G.S End of Day Survey
Watch D.O.G.S. T-shirt Ordering:
Click the link below the photo to order via the Watch D.O.G.S. official website.
WatchDOGS store main page, with more apparel: