On April 15, Spring Hill Elementary School welcomed two therapy dogs, Remy and Fenway, from Caring K9’s Therapy Dogs, rewarding students in grades 4th and 5th for their hard work and progress in their reading and math skills. These students had achieved significant growth on their iReady Diagnostics in both subjects, showing improvements ranging from 16 to 99 points in reading and 15 to 41 points in math. Students who achieved their growth benchmarks in the assessments received a pleasant reward in the form of a therapy dog visit from Caring K9’s, a nonprofit volunteer-based organization. The organization spreads kindness and comfort through its well-trained and certified therapy dogs across various community centers and facilities. The event at the school was a delight for the students and a testament to their efforts and achievements in academic growth.
Kristen Tormey, the principal of Spring Hill Elementary School, remarked that the calming influence of the therapy dogs on the students was truly inspirational.
Michelle Barnes, an event coordinator, shared, “One of my goals is to help close the achievement gap by using these special, well-trained dogs in new, creative ways to impact student achievement, attendance, and behavior in the schools I support. It is my hope that Caring K9’s Therapy Dogs will encourage positive behaviors and boost academic engagement and test scores in our students, especially our most challenging students, by being positive, calming forces for them.”
