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Reading with Casey

An educational program that connects a law enforcement officer with elementary school students to encourage literacy and build trust and positive relationships between students and First Responders.

Reading with Casey, is an educational program that connects a law enforcement officer with elementary school students to encourage literacy and build trust and positive relationships between students and First Responders. 

 Therapy dogs have become a part of the K-9 unit of many police departments across the country.  Therapy dogs can positively affect a person’s mental and physical health.  A study published last year by researchers found that elementary students who interacted with a therapy dog had “significant stress reduction following the interventions.”   These dogs can help build trust, or the “therapeutic alliance,” between a person and law enforcement. 

 The benefits of having therapy dogs in the classroom include: 

• Physical benefits- Interaction with therapy dogs has been shown to reduce blood pressure, provide physical stimulation and assist with pain management.
• Social benefits- A visiting therapy dog promotes greater self-esteem and focused interaction with other students and teachers.
• Cognitive benefits- It has been empirically proven that therapy dogs stimulate memory and problem-solving skills.
• Emotional and mental health benefits- A recent national survey of adolescent mental health found that about 8 to 10 percent of teens ages 13 to 18 have an anxiety disorder. A therapy dog can lift moods in the classroom, often provoking laughter. The therapy dog is also there to offer friendship and a shoulder to lean on for students.
• Improve reading skills-Dogs can contribute to the improvement of reading and comprehension skills of students having difficulties and increase and increase confidence and literary interest.

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