Strolling the halls and grounds of California Area School District, you might find elementary students reading a book to a flock of lambs, or a friendly dog checking in on a classroom of middle school students, or even a stressed high schooler talking it out with a guidance counselor and a guinea pig. And that’s not to mention the chickens, jellyfish, and honeybees that also call this district home.
The district’s partnership with animals began when California Area High School/Middle School principal Josh Pollock and his dog Charlie gained therapy animal certification. Principal Pollock began bringing Charlie to school and the impact was immediate.
“I knew there would be an impact on health and wellness, but what I didn’t expect was the impact on our learning culture—among students and among teachers,” says Superintendent Laura Jacob. “This gave us the confidence to continue to find animal-assisted interventions for learning in schools.”
The district currently has 14 therapy dogs across the district, handled by 13 different faculty, staff, and administrators. The dogs work on a rotation that results in 1 or 2 therapy dogs in each building every day. School district administration recently worked with a media production class to produce a video about the undertaking and impact of this ambitious effort:
The district’s welcoming of animals into the schools dovetails with their academic innovations: the introduction of bees, chickens, and ducks came as part of efforts to advance personalized learning. Students designed and built a chicken coop, and now they take care of the school’s flock. They analyze data from the behavior of bees in the school’s beehives, and harvest eggs from the chickens and honey from the bees, measuring and studying what they collect. The “bee club” makes lip balm from the beeswax they harvest, and life skills students use the eggs and honey in cooking class.
The district’s welcoming of animals into the schools dovetails with their academic innovations: the introduction of bees, chickens, and ducks came as part of efforts to advance personalized learning. Students designed and built a chicken coop, and now they take care of the school’s flock. They analyze data from the behavior of bees in the school’s beehives, and harvest eggs from the chickens and honey from the bees, measuring and studying what they collect. The “bee club” makes lip balm from the beeswax they harvest, and life skills students use the eggs and honey in cooking class.
After more than two years of partnering with dogs, bees, chickens, ducks, and lambs, California Area School District is seeing dramatic positive changes in their school’s culture and students’ social and emotional development. “No matter the animal, we continue to discover how the animals teach us, and our children, how to be better humans,” says Superintendent Jacob.
Now, the district is formalizing their animal-assisted interventions to help other districts replicate their success. They’ve welcomed school administrators from across the region to come and see what’s happening at California Area. They’re also providing tools and guidance for those looking to bring the power of animal therapy and interaction into their schools, even working with their farm partners to help schools test out the approach:
So the next time you imagine the “future of education” or “personalized learning,” consider adding golden retrievers, baby lambs, and guinea pigs to your visions of technology devices, makerspaces, and flexible seating. And if you’re having trouble picturing it, the team at California Area School District can probably help.