This is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting oh my goodness our families love him so much the kids just they just light up you can just tell the atmosphere so relax and teach us like another classmate meet Cole.

He's a one year old black Labrador retriever, a highly trained therapy dog.

And now the star employee at Welch Elementary School in McDowell County, West Virginia, has been training for a facility dog position.

And he and he found out when he was about nine months, eight or nine months, I think that he was going to be here at Wiltshire Elementary.

So he has been training to work with kids, basically his whole life.

If you see Cole, you'll also probably see Shannon pace close by.

She is Cole's handler and accompanies him through a busy day of greeting students at the door in the morning, walking the halls when classes change, and even participating in class.

We have to solve this problem affects our friendship depends on we need equal cookies for all he is fantastic at sitting and just listening to kids read.

And when you're reading to a dog, you're not reading to you or me.

They're more comfortable with that and they read better.

There are studies that show that students that will go and read like a read to me program with a dog.

their reading levels just jumped higher and higher because they weren't worried about.

He's not going to judge them he is still going to give them hugs and kisses when they're done reading that book.

Cole has become a beloved member of the Welch elementary school family.

It's a close knit family in a tight community that faces significant challenges, not unlike communities across the state.

Many West Virginia students are living in poverty.

1000s are in foster care or in family situations where substance use disorder, mental illness, and even physical abuse or realities.

Children in these trauma inducing environments are at high risk for dropping out of school.

But a 2017 study from the US Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences shows that access to a therapy dog in school increases attendance and graduation rates.

Call caregiver.

One more pitch.

Calls new job at Welch Elementary is multifaceted.

He provides affection and comfort to everyone students, teachers, staff, and even visitors just petting him giving him a hug talking to him or rubbing his belly can alleviate a person stress and anxiety.

And when stress and anxiety are relieved students can better focus on their schoolwork, leading to improved literacy, language development, motor skills, overall grades and academic achievement.

Well it seems as if Cole has always been here.

He's actually a new arrival delivered by Governor Jim justice and First Lady Kathy justice in April 2022.

I want to thank you all so much for accepting the dog the dog as you all know his name is COVID which is wonderful.

And I'm so glad that y'all named in that.

So you know you all can tell call anything Mrs. Pace anything and she's always here to help you all the time.

Good luck for y'all excited to see Are you excited?

Hold on This is all about you all you all are special.

I think we have Beth is bringing someone in right now.

Is the first dog to be assigned under the new friends with paws therapy dog project developed by First Lady Kathy justice after more than a year of research, consultations and visits to other therapy dog programs.

It's such a in depth project that we wanted to make sure that people are doing the right thing the dogs are being cared for the dogs are trained dogs now are being used in funeral homes, hospitals, anything where there's emotional needs.

The First Lady intends to deliver 10 therapy dogs to West Virginia schools by the end of two When he 22, with more to follow, they relate to the dogs.

I mean, they just, they don't feel intimidated.

The dogs, as we all know, are never in a bad mood, you know, they're always happy and glad to see you.

And that's what we want, we just want to build a real bond.

And a real connection to these children in specially after the pandemic is just been mental wellness has just been really tough for the whole state for everyone.

One month after his arrival coals impact can already be observed in Welsh elementary classrooms.

Children are more focused, and the work is more productive.

Man.

Hey, you guys, money chip is gonna come in your family, go, let's go.

I have students who have struggled with anxiety and depression, especially since COVID, they really have struggled a lot with just feelings of anxiousness all the time.

And it could take 20 to 30 minutes or more to get them calm down to a space where they can go back to class.

With Cole, it could take five minutes, you know, so if they can come in here, and they can sit on that couch and just have five to seven minutes of that deep pressure of him just laying on their lap and then petting him.

So that's going to cut down on our out of classroom time.

It's going to also cut down on that child's anxiety.

Pace recalls a student who missed more than 80 days of school last year, but now is showing up simply because of coal.

The minute that I told this student that we were getting a therapy dog.

They were here every single day did not have not missed a day since.

And if he's not here, that student wants to know where he is when he's coming back.

Do you think if Cole was not here, would you come to school?

I would you went oh my gosh.

Even if I was just here, what if it's just me?

Okay, I'll come Okay.

Okay.

Love you.

That's their best friend and and they want to see him and I make a point every day he gets to see that student every single day.

So that's an immediate impact that I've seen from 80 days missed to they're not missing a day because they want to see call.

So when we first got cold, I noticed that as the day would go on, I'd have letters coming under my door.

And they would all be letters for cold pictures or I love you cold, different things like that.

But they were getting damaged because they were getting shoved under the door and it's not the doors not really tall enough for that.

So the pre K room was getting rid of a mailbox and asked if I could have it and I have it set up outside my door.

So now as kids come by going to lunch or recess or the bathroom, they can just sneak a letter to cold as his primary handler.

Pace takes Cole home with her every day.

She says it was an adjustment at first for her family.

But Cole fit right in you.

We weren't sure how it was going to work because we haven't had a large dog in a long time and we have an elderly poodle.

Our cats were a little hesitant of him.

The kids love him.

And he has pretty much attached himself to the boys and they are now like peanut butter and jelly.

They literally are best friends.

And he settled in perfectly It was like he had been there the whole time.

Pace says Cole has bonded with her her sons and her husband.

And while her daily life and routines have changed drastically since Cole came into the picture.

She says she can't imagine life without him this is a viewers first year of school How are you liking it so far?

Oh girl let your React out with me.

So you love school but you'd love it more if he was with you all the time.

I was stealing Yep, well let me ask you this when you came in and your belly was hurting you didn't feel good.

Do you feel better now that you got to hang out cold?

Yeah, I thought so.

Alright, you ready to see him at Colorado line?

Okay, you take a bookbag coming and give me some knuckles you take a bit back and I'll see you or give you a hug gonna hook between you won't.

Wow it doesn't.

He did tell you Okay.

getting children to attend classes ready to learn is an ongoing effort by Welsh elementary administrators, staff and teachers and a goal that school officials want every family to embrace and support.

But principal Sarah Diaz says the challenge is complex in a community that has strong Golde economically for decades, you know, when you have generational poverty, and you're working with kids that have grown up, and they really don't understand or have the fostering of this sense of importance of education, it's a tough battle to fight.

And so it kind of circles back to why our focus is attendance.

Because so many times we have to really educate families.

But in order to do that, we have to build relationships, they're never going to trust us.

And they're never going to listen to what we have to tell them.

And what the research says about why it's so important to come to school.

If we can't find someone on their level.

That's someone at Welch Elementary is Shannon pace.

She's not only Cole's handler, she's also a Communities and Schools site facilitator.

Communities in Schools or cis is a national program that helps connect public schools with community resources to ensure every child has what it takes to be successful in school and eventually graduate with program oversight by the West Virginia Department of Education.

Cis schools reach out to their local department stores, grocery stores, art supply shops, medical providers, banks and other private and nonprofit businesses and organizations.

They become community partners willing to donate goods and services to students and families in need.

Paste his role as cis sight facilitator at Welch Elementary is to identify a student's need and to deliver whatever is necessary.

That may be school supplies, a winter jacket, even healthcare services.

But to do that takes a trusted relationship with the child's family.

She's kind of like a secret agent.

And she is our one who helps go and build those relationships.

And then she bridges those gaps.

And they feel more comfortable to come and talk to me or my assistant principal or even their teachers, whereas before they may or may not have and she just really breaks helps the begin beginning the process of breaking down those generations of walls that have been built up between people in generational poverty.

And all this leads us back to coal and First Lady Kathy justice.

Along with the governor, the First Lady has championed the Communities and Schools program in West Virginia, becoming the driving force in its expansion to now 36 counties.

She developed the friends with paws project as a cis program and hopes to see its expansion as well.

We want more businesses to get involved in.

You know, we have so many people in West Virginia, that if they had just want to sponsor a dog, if they wanted to do the same thing and Communities in Schools that isn't financial, we you know, we want your help to do anything.

This is a nonprofit.

So we do need help anybody that would like to help us We welcome your help.

The friends with paws project provides initial funding to the CIS School for the dog's bed bowls and food.

But the school is responsible for the rest.

And that's a sizable commitment.

What's key to the success of the Communities in Schools program, and now the friends with paws project is community support and funding.

It will cost Welch elementary about $10,000 a year to keep Cole just under $5,000 for his recertification and about $5,000 for food, vet visits and various supplies.

But the town is already stepping up to support the school's efforts.

A new dog park is expected to be built at Linkous city park and funding and provisions for coal have been donated by good sins grocery store, save a lot, Family Dollar Dollar General and three little cupcakes.

Principal Diaz believes support for Cole within the community will continue to grow.

We are really hopeful that we can reach out to our community partners, not only in McDowell County, but in the surrounding areas and really just try to secure his annual fees so that it doesn't have to be a burden on our families.

And that we can really just be able to work with our community partners, and that they will see the benefit of what Cole can do for our students.

And ultimately, if he can provide a benefit to our students, and we can produce children who become productive adults and come back to our community and give back then ultimately, his cost it's priceless.

The First Lady is traveling the state personally delivering as many of the therapy dogs as she can in his first round of her friends with paws project after poll was delivered to the alto Elementary in McDowell County.

Foster found a home at mccannon Academy in Upshur.

County in April 2022.

By the end of the year therapy dogs are scheduled for delivery in Pineville Elementary in Wyoming County Morefield Elementary and hardy county spring Mills High School in Berkeley County, Wayne Elementary in Wayne County.

Lenore pre K through eighth grade and Mingo County Greenbank Elementary Middle School in Pocahontas County, and Greenbrier East High in Greenbrier County.

You may think that only young children get excited about having a dog in school, but students at Lewis County High demonstrated and immediate excitement and attachment to Jasper school had officially ended for the year.

But a large group some 200 Teenagers came back just to greet her at what project officials have been calling a friends with paws pup rally.

Everybody in this chair is to say Do you remember when Jasper came to Lewis County High School and guess what some of those people won't remember because they weren't here.

But you are all so you can tell him I would say and Jasper made her appearance.

Just Jasper is a one year old Labrador Retriever sporting a beautiful cream colored coat.

And she seemed quite happy taking center stage in the gym to meet all her new friends posing for pictures and giving out hugs.

Sarah linger is Lewis county high schools, communities and schools site coordinator and Jasper's primary handler, she's going to be a huge helper.

She's going to be famous in our county seis site coordinator linger estimates she's helping approximately 70 students at any given time, I help students with a wider range of things that might come up big problems of family issues, sometimes small issues, I run the care closet here.

And actually that is something that is available to all of my students.

So we call that a tier one support.

And I'm probably in that closet five to 10 times a day.

And it's just something maybe spilt something on them.

They had an accident.

Sometimes kids don't get to go and shop really outside of the school with families and they love my closet.

So let them definitely use that.

I work a lot with the community, the FRN, the Family Resource Network, we do a lot of stuff.

She provides our food boxes for us.

So on Fridays, we are passing out snack boxes in the hallway as they go out the door for the weekend.

If the kid wants to take one they can.

Gosh, honestly, I'm just the friendly face and the School of you know if there's anything that a student needs, like I said already big or small, they come and find me and we figure out if I don't have the answer, then we get it figured out.

Linger says Jasper will become an important ally.

In her work with these students.

The dog will spend her days being a friendly, comforting presence in the school, walking the halls visiting classrooms and helping to deescalate stressful situations.

Her presence honestly, you know, in the classroom, if there's a teacher that feels like, maybe they're having some testing anxiety, we can go into the classroom and let her just be in there.

You know, you've always heard the phrase, you know, we don't want that kind of fall through the cracks.

And the more people we have looking out for kids and having an ongoing relationship with them.

Helps keep that from happening.

Principal John Whiston enthusiastically applied for Lewis County High School to participate in the friends with paws project, knowing the impact of the Communities in Schools program at the school.

I think kids a lot of kids, this isn't their place.

But when they have somebody here that they know cares about, you know, the old saying, they don't care what we do until they know we care.

They know Sarah cares.

And it's kept a lot of people in school as improved a lot of grades, just because she's gonna check on their grades to you know, even if it's just so high you don't have English class now.

And if they can't put a little positive pressure on to be more successful, Western was happy to step forward as a secondary handler for Jasper Jasper is great.

As a dog, handler person, I'm not as good as Jasper is And I think we have have to be retrained.

We've all been dog owners our whole lives.

And for me, at least, the way I talk to my dogs is, I guess maybe a little more casual than a serious, well trained therapy dog.

But this dogs extra sharp, extra, extra Smart.

The therapy dogs and the friends with paws project are coming from a dog training facility in Indiana called Ultimate canine where Beth Johnson is a trainer and handler.

Johnson prepared both Cole and Jasper and accompanied both to their new assignments in West Virginia.

And it's been proven fact that just having a dog near you touching that dog actually is going to bring down that your blood pressure, just get those endorphins moving and really help you relax so that you can really kind of benefit from any kind of interaction that you have.

For every therapy dog Johnson trains a primary handler, and at least three secondary handlers, the dogs and handlers must learn standard obedience commands like sit, stay and come as well as some unique commands.

And she'll do it even without it.

Okay, so make a fist, hold it down low in time apples and she'll give you a little fist bump.

Knuckles, go girl.

Yeah.

All right, let's try it again.

Sick, Greg knuckles.

Hi.

Ghosts.

Snuggle command is basically she's going to put her paws across your lap and just kind of be in your lap so that you can cuddle with her, okay, or you could be sitting and she could be up on a sofa, kind of lying across your lap.

That's novel as well.

So and, or you could be sitting on the floor, okay, and she's going to make body contact with you.

She has a visit command, where she comes in, she's going to sit next to me.

And she's going to rest her head on my lap, so that I can just reach down and pet her and get a little love from her basically.

And it's not quite as much body contact.

So some kids are more comfortable with dogs than others.

So we're always very careful about that.

Johnson says she knows that Jasper is ready to take on her new responsibilities at Lewis County High School.

And she's confident she's leaving her in good hands with her newly trained handlers.

Johnson encourages them to be consistent with Jasper and learn to take her cues.

We can't say, you know, this is how every situation is going to be because in a environment like a school, you never know what situation is going to be.

So sometimes she knows better.

Okay?

And you need to listen to that.

And know, okay, you may not realize this kid really needs a visit.

But she may realize that that kid really needs a visit and really needs to spend time with her.

So you just kind of need to you'll learn those cues and start paying attention to those cues.

Like other schools receiving therapy dogs, Lewis County High School will turn to their communities and schools community partners to help with Jasper's expenses.

With a long list of partners, including the local Family Resource Network, Camden Family Health, the United Way, the local food pantry, churches and private businesses linger is not worried about finding sustained funding, there has not been a place that I've went and Lewis County and have asked, you know, for something for our school and our community that someone has told me now, so So thank you, to all of all of the people here at Lewis County for that it's been wonderful just seeing their support.

And you know, they understand the need, we have a lot of kind people here honestly, observing student reaction the day of the pep rally linger says she can already see an impact that Jasper is having on the students for the short amount of time that I've been around her and she's been here in the building.

The kids just they just light up and they just want to see her and just like a little Hi little, you know, and then they go about their way.

I've already seen positive like, you know, happiness from them.

This sort of response is exactly what First Lady Kathy justice is hoping for.

Giving children access to therapy dogs, she hopes will help students have a stronger sense of self confidence, community responsibility, and compassion toward those around them.

They can talk to the dog, they can read the the dog, you know, they can just the dog can be their friend, and it doesn't judge them.

I mean, it's a simple thing to say, but it truly doesn't.

And we want to be there to encourage them to know that they can do anything in life they want to do we want them to feel great about themselves.

We want them to be proud to be from what West Virginia.

And now that they're the stars are the limits where they can go in there.

And we just want to let them know that they don't have to be ashamed of anything.

You know, you can overcome a lot of stuff in life.

And with communities and schools, we're there to help you make that bond.

And just do as great as you can.

And just mostly we just want them to be proud be proud about yourself.

Communities in Schools started as a pilot program in West Virginia in 2018.

With just three counties, it's now in 36, with 194 schools 193 on site coordinators, reaching 84,000 students.

Program organizers hope the new friends with paws project sees the same kind of expansion in West Virginia's public schools in the years to come.

A newly launched website at CIS wv.org is providing information and encouraging participation of additional school districts, families and local donors.

This has been a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting