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Antonio Lopez (left) reads to Roo the dog as Kelsey Ely pats Roo’s head at Irisburg Elementary School. Roo is part of Read to the Paw, an SPCA program. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray) |
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
By PAUL COLLINS - Bulletin Staff Writer
Roo is one well-read-to dog.
As part of a program called Read to the Paw, students at Irisburg Elementary School take turns reading aloud to Roo, a brown-and-black 4-year-old Airedale terrier.
Roo is a good sport. On Friday, she was decked out in a “gingerbread cookie” Halloween costume that included a chocolate brown bonnet/mini-cape and similarly colored garments around her ankles.
Eight-year-old Kelsey Ely, dressed up herself in a red top with sequins and furlike accents and red pants with sequins, petted Roo frequently as she read to the dog a book about a donkey that always wanted to be a lion.
But Read to Paw is not just a warm and fuzzy program about dogs and children. It is a collaboration between the school and the SPCA of Martinsville-Henry County’s pet therapy program to improve students’ reading skills and give them an opportunity to see a trained dog as a pet and friend, rather than just an animal confined outside.
The school began participating in the program in February, and 25 students are taking part, said Lois Kezar, reading specialist at Irisburg Elementary.
According to Kezar and members of the school’s reading staff, the program lasts about one hour each Friday, and small groups of students are brought in to read to the dog. Each student reads one book that he or she has practiced several times throughout the week.
The program allows students to read at a site outside their regular classrooms. It’s a treat for them to be around Roo, and it increases students’ interest in reading, officials said. Some parents say their children read more at home.
Also, if students have areas in which they need additional work to improve reading, such as vocabulary, reading fluency, vowel sounds, etc., the reading specialist and staff can work on those areas.
Kelsey, a third-grader in Helen Smith’s class, said she likes reading to Roo. “I think ... (she’s) cute.” Kelsey is the daughter of Ronald Roberts and Juni Ely.
Kelsey said she has a dog of her own and sometimes she reads stories to it, including dog stories.
The program also has taught her “to treat dogs kind,” Kelsey said.
Christina Martin of Martinsville came to the reading room Friday to hear her son, Jason Martin Jr., read. “It’s a good program,” she said, not only to help children such as Jason who aren’t used to dogs, but to improve reading skills. “I can tell he’s really started reading to me. He hasn’t really wanted to read to me before,” she said.
Jason’s father is Jason Martin Sr. of Martinsville.
“I think it’s very rewarding to the students,” Kezar said. “The dog is very nonjudgmental.”
There was improvement in the reading scores of everyone in the program last school year, she added.
Alice Ann Blevins, the local SPCA’s pet therapy chairman, who is licensed and is a volunteer, said the school reading program has been in existence since 2002, when Mount Olivet Elementary began participating. Irisburg is the only school so far this school year, but Axton Elementary is scheduled to begin later, Blevins said.
Roo and Pax, a standard poodle, used in the program, have been trained and screened for temperament, good manners and attitude, she added.
“I see such a change in children” who go through the program, Blevins said. They are “eager to read.”
In addition to the reading program, the SPCA pet therapy program is available to offer nursing home visits and work with special-needs children, Blevins said. For more information, call Blevins at 632-7424. |
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