Wilson Elementary WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) Program

1. Wilson Elementary WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) Program

2. WATCH D.O.G.S (Dads of Great Students) • Father involvement initiative that started back in 1998 by Jim Moore • K-12 Program designed to help schools be positively influenced by the committed involvement of fathers and father figures • Dads are asked to volunteer one day a year at the school • Dads will engage in various activities such as : • welcoming students during arrival, • reading to classes, • tutoring small groups of students, • having fun at recess, • or simply sitting down and connecting with students during lunch Program has now spread to over 1500 schools across 40 States and New Zealand

3. Why is WATCH D.O.G.S Needed? • The average father spends 7 minutes a day with their children • 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes • 71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes • 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from fatherless homes • 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home In our schools today, the rates offatherless and unfathered children range from 35-75% of the student population. Sources: National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools;U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report, Sept 1988); Fulton Co. Georgia jail populations, Texas Dept. of Corrections 1992)

4. There are 3 winners when you havea successful WATCH D.O.G.S. Program • The Dads win because we know our role as a WATCH D.O.G. may impact many lives, starting with our own children. • The students win because the father and father-figures give their time and energy as a positive male role model. 3. The school wins due to the Support and Safety a WATCH D.O.G provides as an unobtrusive fathering presence on campus. 96% of Dads strongly agreed or agreed that their "experience as a WATCH DOGS volunteer was rewarding" and they would "want to do something like this again.”