Jermaine Savage is a Kentucky State Police sergeant and a busy dad of five.
As a graduate of Austin Peay State University, where he played basketball on the team that played in the 1996 NCAA Tournament, and where he’s in the Athletics Hall of Fame, Savage is a huge proponent of higher education.
Now the state trooper is also one of the many local fathers who are bringing their life experience and compassion for children to Stevenson Elementary School, where they volunteer in the Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students) program.
“I wish I would have had something like this when I was a kid in school,” Savage said of the program that places fathers or close male role models of students in the school for a full day each time they volunteer.
Savage recently read to children at Stevenson, where his youngest child, Jasmine, is in Kindergarten.
“It’s fun helping,” he said, “and it took me back” to childhood days.
Savage volunteers because “schooling starts at home and transitions into the school system, so you should be supportive,” he said.
Carol Kees, the Stevenson Family Resource Center director who organized the SES Watch D.O.G.S. program, loves that Savage and other dads are so willing to take time out of their busy schedules to help out at Stevenson.
“We are so excited about this program and the opportunity it provides for our children to experience more time with male leadership,” she said. “Our dads who have already been here have been such a great help in the classroom. The teachers have enjoyed the extra hands, the kids have enjoyed the special time with these Watch D.O.G.S. and the Watch D.O.G.S. have expressed their delight in spending time with the students and seeing first-hand what their kids do while at school.”
According to Fathers.com, Watch D.O.G.S. “is the father involvement initiative of the National Center for Fathering that organizes fathers and father figures in order to provide positive male role models for the students and to enhance school security. Today, more than 2276 active programs in 41 states participate in the Watch D.O.G.S. Program.”
To learn more about volunteering in the Watch D.O.G.S. program, contact Carol Kees at carol.kees@russellville.kyschools.us
Russellville Independent Schools’ Mission: At Russellville Independent Schools, we are committed to insuring that all students achieve at their highest potential, all teachers teach with relevance and rigor and all teachers establish meaningful relationships with students, parents and the community.
Post a Comment
