Watch D.O.G.S.
October 12, 2015
When people think about parent volunteers, they typically visualize a mom. However, at Day Creek Intermediate School, dads are the latest trend!
On the evening of August 19, dads and their middle school children were invited on campus for the annual Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) presentation.
Watch D.O.G.S., a program instituted from the National Center for Fathering
(NCF), encourages dads or other male family members (grandpas, uncles, etc.) to participate in activities at schools around the country, acting as role models for students on campus.
Mr. Apodaca, Day Creek’s assistant principal, introduced the Watchdog program to the campus in 2013. Each year since, he has shared the importance of a father’s role in a child’s life, both on campus and at home.
In this year’s presentation, Mr. Apodaca encouraged dads to get to learn about the Watch D.O.G.S. program which allows them to be more involved in their student’s school life.
“You see a lot of moms on campus; you don’t see a lot of dads. Often times we forget that sometimes in our busy lives, we get disconnected from our kids, and this is an opportunity to get reconnected and to stay connected,” Apodaca said.
Apodaca explained that fathers are necessary in the lives of their children because kids who lack a dad’s involvement are more likely to be delinquent from campus, get involved with substance abuse, engage in sexual activity, or drop out of school.
“One day…one day,” Mr. Apodaca said while explaining that he only needs a commitment of one day’s involvement from each dad.
Parents left the presentation with an understanding that Watchdogs are important because kids need father figures in their lives and dads can make kids feel better about themselves.
“I want to be more involved with my son’s life, especially his school life. [Having a father figure] gives him more direction and guidance in a different way than their mom,” said William Birdwell.
As the evening ended, several dads expressed their interest in observing how their kids operate at Day Creek and also gaining insight as to how the school functions.
“I get to see what they do all day [and] I get to spend a day with them,” said Jeff Torti in anticipation, about sharing the day with his kids.
