Dads on patrol: Watch D.O.G.S. bring dads to school

Published 2:46 pm Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Fall City Elementary School Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) can be found on campus on any given day of the week, with dads and father figures committed to 140 days of volunteer work, to be precise, since the program’s inception in September.

Co-founder and real-estate broker Jeff Kissick said he and local firefighter Joey White, who both have children attending FCES, were inspired to start Watch D.O.G.S. after his brother-in-law implemented the program at Maple Hills Elementary in Issaquah. Kissick said Maple Hills’ first year consisted of 15 sign-ups, while FCES’ signups rocketed to 96 participants.

“Joey was a great driver; we were great recruiters,” he explained at the Fall City Library. “My wife, Lori, she was the one behind the admin side. She was the rockstar, but between her and the principal, those two handled it. Joey and I get credit, but we don’t deserve it — not like them.”

To garner interest, the Watch D.O.G.S. hosted a pizza night in the fall and a recruiting “Doughnuts with Dad” day on March 6. There, 180 people devoured 23 dozen doughnuts.  The collective efforts have been so successful, that Kissick said they’ll likely have to limit volunteering days to just two-a-year next year.

“I am proud to say we brought the Watch D.O.G.S. program to Fall City Elementary but even more thrilled by its success,” FCES principal, Monica Phillips, wrote in an e-mail. “Our dads have given their time to not only make a difference in their child’s life but all our students, as well. A special attribute of FCES is the incredible amount of parent and community support; we have an amazing culture, which the program has only increased.”

Phillips said there are only two male teachers at the kindergarten-to-fifth-grade, 626-student school, but advocated that the goals and nature of the program extend “beyond the classroom teacher.”

Heidi, 6, and her sister Anna, 8, help their dad, Simon, with his Watch D.O.G.S. crossing duties.

The national Watch D.O.G.S. program was founded in 1998 by Jim Moore in Arkansas. Since then, it has extended to more than 2,127 schools in 40 states. Kissick described the local program as “dad proof,” as volunteers are handed a lanyard with their schedules as soon as they walk in.

The volunteer of the day on Friday, April 24 was Valley-resident Simon, whose two daughters, Anna, 8, and Heidi, 6, attend FCES. He compared the typical day of a Watch D.O.G.S. volunteer to “herding cats.”

“One of the biggest impressions I have is I don’t have a spare second,” Simon explained as he whizzed down the halls to grab his daughters and rushed outside for crossing guard duties.

Kissick expressed a similar sentiment, while he explained that a typical work day involves running around the classroom, administering tests, working with kids one-on-one with math problems and, ultimately, building a lot of respect for the tireless work of elementary school teachers.

“The cool thing about Watch D.O.G.S. is it’s (about) anti-bullying, a sense of security,” Kissick continued. “It shows kids that education is important to dads. Those are all reasons why dads want to do the program; once they show up, and spend a day, they go home exhausted – they’re amazed.”

As for the sense of security, Simon agreed that there’s something comforting about having an extra dad around.

“I’m the sort of person I’d like to have around to look after the place,” he mused.

Regardless of why dads or father figures volunteer, princpal Phillips reassured they’re always welcome in the school’s halls.

“They are the heroes of the day,” she continued. “It’s so cute to hear the murmurs in the hall, ‘There’s a WatchDOG,’ or, ‘My dad is the WatchDOG today.’ (The students have) total excitement, pride and enthusiasm for the program.”

Simon practices math with second grader Mary Tafas, 7.