After vacation from school last week, Coco returned to her role as canine therapist/canine remedial reading assistant/jack-of-all trades therapy dog at the Robert E. Melican Middle School where her mom is the assistant principal. Each week, I am in awe of what Bright Spot Therapy Dog Coco has done to help these children.
As always, unedited and in her own words, Here’s Coco…
I went to school with Mom on Wednesday and Friday this week. Wednesday, I worked with so many students. The guidance counselor met with students 1:1 with me, and I worked with the behavior specialist in small group settings for academic support clusters and for social skills groups. Additionally, Mom took me to a sixth grade learning center, where I was able to provide an academic break to over 15 students before they headed to lunch. On our way back to the office from the learning center, Mom and I visited briefly with 20 students before they settled in to take their practice MCAS composition, which I guess can be pretty stressful. After school, Mom and I drove to Greenfield for class.
On Friday, I started my day by attending a Leadership Team meeting with Mom. The principal, team leaders, and Mom were at the meeting. The meeting began with some exercises on stress reduction. When one of the teachers walked into the meeting a little late, I could tell she was stressed and flustered. She was so happy to sit next to me, and was excited to see my tail wagging when she sat down. Later, I worked with students in the guidance area. I also worked with students in their small group studies in the behavior specialist’s room. One of the students who came to spend time with Mom and me said, “Oh, Coco, I really needed this today…” A teacher came into Mom’s office after lunch to see me. The last of her three dogs passed away on Monday, and she has been sad this week. She said she really needed some “Coco time” to help her feel better. She sat with me for 10 minutes, talking with Mom about how hard it was losing her dog and how much she missed her. Mom says I gave her a lot of comfort today, and that I made her day a bit better. I also attended a meeting with 6 teachers and support staff members. The meeting got a little contentious at one point, but I helped keep the tone calm and positive. Last period, Mom and I visited the Transitional Learning Center, where students shared with us the letters they had written to a local TV station about me. They were so excited to read them to us, and we enjoyed hearing them and seeing the pictures that they included with their letters.
Students and teachers were very happy to see me this week, and I was happy to be back. I love spending time with students and staff members at Melican! ~Coco