Education
www.qns.com I LIC COURIER I OCTOBER 2017 37
Photos courtesy of Department of Education
Puppy
Playmates
BY ANGELA MATUA
AMATUA@QNS.COM / @ANGELAMATUA
Students attending six Queens
schools will be able to interact
with puppies as part of the
Department of Education’s
(DOE) Comfort Dog program.
Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña
announced on Sept. 26 that the pro-gram,
which was started last year, will
expand to 30 additional schools across
the city, bringing the total number of
schools with a designated pup to 37.
Each dog is adopted from the North
Shore Animal League and are brought
in to “improve school climate and con-tribute
to social-emotional learning.”
A staff member at each school
adopts the dog and educators can
opt in to receive training in the Mutt-i-
Gree curriculum, which includes lesson
plans and strategies to incorporate the
dog into counseling protocols.
“The Comfort Dog program brings
a smile to students and staff on a
challenging day, helps to de-escalate
issues and can even provide bereave-ment
support,” Fariña said. “We know
students need academic and social-emotional
supports to succeed in the
classroom and beyond, and comfort
dogs are helping nearly 40 schools
strengthen their culture and build
stronger relationships.”
