Update!

Thanks to CBS News for picking up our story!

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/belmont-hills-elementary-school-therapy-dog-program/

 

 

Phriends of Phantom

On August 31, 2022, Bensalem Township School District Superintendent Dr. Samuel Lee announced the decision to prohibit personal therapy dogs like our beloved Phantom from District property, due to liability concerns from the District’s insurance company and District Solicitors. Phantom, a trained and certified personal therapy dog, has been a welcome addition at Belmont Hills Elementary School since 2021. Phantom visited the building on a part time basis but she developed full time bonds with the 500+ students of Belmont Hills during her short duration in the school. Children were able to stop near Phantom’s gated area to say hello or pet her, sometimes read to her, and were even offered reward incentives to spend time with their beloved furry friend, always with handler supervision. To say our students, teachers, and staff are disappointed and devastated with the District’s decision is a gross understatement. 

Phantom has gone through extensive training.  She completed her training at Canine Academy located at 377 W. Lincoln Hwy, Penndel PA 19047.  She graduated Obedience 1 and 2, along with receiving certificates for Canine of good citizenship and therapy.   She belongs to Angels on a Leash and was chosen to go to the 911 Memorial Garden of Reflection for a service.

Bensalem Township School District, we petition you to reconsider the decision to remove therapy dogs from BTSD property. Listed below are many sources of information detailing the benefits of therapy dogs for student and staff mental health and well-being. In fact, BTSD was profiled in a positive light in the Community Health Magazine article “How dogs can help students in and out of the classroom.”  

According to the Frontiers in Veterinary Science (June 2021 research article), “there is preliminary evidence which suggests that therapy dogs can enhance children’s well-being in a variety of settings from schools, hospitals, airports, and courtrooms. Therapy dogs have been found to reduce physiological symptoms of stress through lowering cortisol levels, increasing positive emotions, and promoting engagement in learning activities.”  This is especially important at a time when, according to new research from a study on reading and mathematics assessments for age 9 students to examine student achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020. This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics.

Surely the District and their insurance company could develop an acceptable risk mitigation strategy and plan so that our children, teachers and staff may continue to benefit from the presence of therapy dogs like Phantom.    

https://www.communityhealthmagazine.com/mind_and_body/at_school/how-dogs-can-help-students-in-and-out-of-the-classroom/article_259ed50c-99ae-11e8-8dd2-27e186cf9349.html

https://m3ins.com/therapy-dogs-in-schools/

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.655104/full

 

https://schooltherapydog.org/administrative-support

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8217446/

https://www.nassp.org/2021/03/16/therapy-dog-programs-improving-student-and-staff-well-being/

https://www.smarthernews.com/quickreads/20220906-reading-math-scores-decrease