Tuesday, September 27, 2016
AUSTINTOWN
More than 800 dads, daughters and sons sat excitedly in their assigned classrooms at Austintown Intermediate School waiting for the WATCH D.O.G.S., Dads of Great Students, kick-off Monday night.
Activities, games and students’ work filled each classroom ready for students to show their fathers what a day looked like for them.
Patty Herman, Parent-Teacher Association president, said the program is dedicated to promoting more father involvement in out-of-school programs.
“We have so many moms and it would be nice to increase the amount of dads in the PTA,” she said.
Jeff Swavel, AIS principal, said he thought the program was a great way to get a male role model active in the schools.
“Our PTA moms are tirelessly always here, and we want to get more dads and father figures actively involved,” he said.
Swavel said statistical research is overwhelming as to how powerful the male presence can be on students’ academic and social well-being.
The powerful presence was maximized as the high number of attendees bottlenecked the hallways, registering for the event. Swavel said he only expected a 100- to 200-person turnout.
“It’s just awesome to get these dads inside the classroom,” said Troy Balint, fifth-grade math teacher and WATCH D.O.G.S. co-host.
Harold Porter, parent and Austintown School District board of education member, said he thought the event was a great display of what Austintown teachers have to offer.
“This showcases the Austintown staff and shows how they go just above and beyond – they don’t even get anything extra for this,” he said. “It also shows what a great relationship they have with the PTA.”
Superintendent Vince Colaluca agreed and said the event is a true reflection of the great community and school system Austintown has to offer.
“Especially the parents,” he said. “They are our backbone.”
Porter said WATCH D.O.G.S. is all his sons Trent and Trevor, both 10, have been talking about since hearing about the event.
“They kept going over the itinerary with me and had a countdown going until the event,” he said. “They just couldn’t wait.”
James McIntosh, father and fellow backbone piece, said he was pleasantly surprised the event brought out more dads than other programs have.
“This might just be one more thing to make learning for the children interesting,” he said.