MUSKEGON, Mich. — School brings many challenges for students. Managing their anxiety and mental health is also important.
Muskegon Public Schools has a staff member to specifically help them with that. He just happens to have four legs and fur.
Priority Health, in partnership with Canines for Change, placed 2-year-old goldendoodle, Scout, with Muskegon Public Schools. He is a trained facility dog, selected for his temperament to ease anxiety for students and encourage learning.
"From a puppy, he was very calm and level, no emotional highs or lows," said Joshua Presson, K12 science curriculum specialist and district facility dog handler. "They filter out the temperament that they're looking for, a pup or dog that is calm, very docile, and then he goes through about a year of training. Then he's placed, and then we had to pass a certification test for him to be a certified facility dog."
Presson said Scout has had a positive impact on the students in Muskegon. He visits all schools in the district during the week.
"There was a young lady who had a lot of anxiety and was crying in the entry of a building," said Presson. "I brought Scout out to her and her mom, and to make a long story short, she ended up walking Scout on his leash back to her classroom. He was able to help her calm down and get to class where she needed to be."
Scout is used as a deescalater, motivator, cuddle buddy, reading buddy and more.
"There was this one day I was mad," said Jasiyah Gamble, an 8th-grade student. "They were bringing Scout in, and I got to pet him, and it made me calm down a bit."
This is Scout's second year with the district.
"The more open we are about it, the more we can address it and try to figure out what the best way to handle emotional situations," said Presson about mental health.
Priority Health has also placed a dog at North Godwin Elementary School, and has plans to place one in a Detroit-area school district later this year.
When asked about how middle school was, 8th grader Sophia Crawford said, "It’s a lot. It’s fun, but it’s a lot."
"Having Scout helps us a lot," said Crawford.