Reading Education Assistance Dogs

By Paul E Crost

Using dogs to help children learn to read has been proven to be be a valuable tool, particularly with special needs students.

You can find out about READ programs at "<http://www.therapyanimals.org/read/about.html>"

As a Board member, I will promote the introduction and use of this program in the District. I believe that we can enlist dog owners to volunteer their time and energy to the program so that the cost to the District is minimized. Teachers who have their own dogs can be encouraged to train them so that they can be safely introduced to the classroom to be used as READs. I strongly believe that such a program will substantially improve the reading ability of our pupils and will advance the education of children with learning disabilities.