{"id":13155,"date":"2025-02-07T14:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T19:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=13155"},"modified":"2025-02-07T14:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T19:28:08","slug":"school-dads-support-students-as-watch-d-o-g-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/school-dads-support-students-as-watch-d-o-g-s\/","title":{"rendered":"School dads support students as WATCH D.O.G.S."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Tyler Vollmar, right, is part of White Oaks\u2019 WATCH D.O.G.S. The father of five recently greeted students as they arrived at school, including first grader Logan Thomas, accompanied by his father Justin Thomas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Fourth grade teacher James Brooks,left, recently launched WATCH D.O.G.S. at White Oaks Elementary. Tyler Vollmar joined the program that encourages positive male role models to volunteer in the school.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Logan Thomas was greeted with a smile when he arrived at school on a recent rainy morning.<\/p>\n

The first grader and his dad, Justin Thomas, were escorted into White Oaks Elementary by Tyler Vollmar.<\/p>\n

Vollmar is part of a very special group of \u201cWATCH D.O.G.S.\u201d who wear their bright yellow T-shirts when they volunteer at the school.<\/p>\n

D.O.G.S. stands for \u201cDads Of Great Students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The men serve as positive role models. They help during parent drop-off and pickup, in classrooms, the cafeteria, during physical education time and anywhere else needed.<\/p>\n

Sometimes they share their talents or just hand out high-fives in the hallways.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about being around and being present in the school,\u201d said Vollmar, who has served in the U.S. Navy for about 18 years.<\/p>\n

Three of his five children currently attend White Oaks, including Teddy Vollmar, whose fourth-grade teacher is James Brooks.<\/p>\n

Brooks has been with VBCPS since he retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2016.<\/p>\n

He got the program off the ground this year with six dads and hopes the number increases as word spreads about the participants\u2019 positive impact on students.<\/p>\n

WATCH D.O.G.S. is a national family and community engagement initiative designed to benefit students both socially and academically. Since 1998, more than 6,800 schools have launched the program that increases male involvement in schools.<\/p>\n

Dads, grandfathers, uncles and father figures are welcome to join.<\/p>\n

Principal Danielle Williams said WATCH D.O.G.S. has been a positive addition to White Oaks. She thanked Brooks for launching the program and the PTA for purchasing the training startup kits.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
WATCH D.O.G.S is up and running at White Oaks Elementary. The national program increases male involvement in schools and benefits students socially and academically.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great way for fathers and male role models to be actively involved in our school, supporting students\u2019 learning and growth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Brooks is one of five male teachers at White Oaks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program helps foster a collaboration and inclusive school culture and creates a safer environment with additional adult presence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding that community helps kids to feel safe and that they belong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vollmar said he didn\u2019t hesitate to join WATCH D.O.G.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cI enjoy being around not only my kids, but others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Setting a positive example could ultimately help improve grades, he said.<\/p>\n

About 65% of the approximately 650 White Oaks Elementary students are military connected.<\/p>\n

Vollmer, who has been deployed four times during his career, said he can relate to what some of the students are going through.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can help bring some added support during those difficult times.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has enjoyed getting to know the children and seeing familiar faces from his neighborhood or teams he\u2019s coached.<\/p>\n

Students have been very receptive, he added.<\/p>\n

Once Vollmer worked with a young girl who wanted to learn how to shoot a basketball through a hoop, something she had never done. Watching her excitement after making that first shot was rewarding, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSupporting them and showing that they can accomplish their goals is going to set them up for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other VBCPS schools have WATCH D.O.G.S., including: \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeff Schroth, part of Indian Lakes Elementary\u2019s program was named the school\u2019s 2024 \u201cVolunteer of the Year.\u201d He was recognized for helping weekly in the cafeteria, hallways, library and during PE, music and art classes.<\/p>\n

WATCH D.O.G.S. started at Kingston Elementary about 15 years ago and now has about 50 to 60 participants each year. Almost every day, there\u2019s a member helping in the school.<\/p>\n

For more than a decade, Malibu Elementary\u2019s WATCH D.O.G.S. have volunteered at the school. Currently about 30 dads, grandfathers and stepdads rotate on Tuesdays and Thursdays.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Logan Thomas was greeted with a smile when he arrived at school on a recent rainy morning. The first grader and his dad, Justin Thomas, were escorted into White Oaks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":13156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13155"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13183,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13155\/revisions\/13183"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}