Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Watching Out for Kids

There's an amazing program just a couple of miles from home, and there may be one close to your home as well.  It's called WatchDOGS (Dads of Great Students), and is designed to provide additional male presence on school campuses.

WatchDOGS was established by Jim Moore, a  dad in Springdale, Arkansas, in response to the 1998 Jonesboro school shootings.  He was concerned about the safety of his kids and realized that men could make a difference on school campuses.  "Somebody who's not there, who could be there, is me," Moore said. "And I thought, 'Well, what if you could create a program for fathers, and father figures, that come to school just to be that extra set of eyes and ears for the students and for the teachers?'"


WatchDogs is now in 38 states and New Zealand and has over 1,559 chapters.  Cedarhome Elementary in Stanwood is one of them.  Tim Poetzl is a WatchDOG.  He and Cedarhome's principal, Jeff Lofgren, star in this rap about every day life at school.


Way to go, WatchDogs!



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