STARTING UP A NEW WATCH D.O.G.S.® PROGRAM
Our programs for Elementary and Secondary School campuses help provide positive male role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important. We provide training content, support materials, uniform apparel and other promotional items for your campus community.
Welcome to Dads of Great Students
Home of the WATCH D.O.G.S.® Program ~ Established 1998
The Dads of Great Students WATCH D.O.G.S.® program is one of the nation’s largest and most respected school-based, family, and community engagement, organizations designed and developed by educators, experts and parent & guardian volunteers over more than two decades.
Our programs for Elementary and Secondary School campuses help provide positive male role models for the students, demonstrating by their presence that education is important. Meanwhile, we provide extra sets of eyes and ears to enhance school security, reduce bullying and provide a greater sense of campus safety allowing students and teachers to focus on learning and instruction.
We provide training content, support materials, uniform apparel and other promotional items for your campus community. Our mission is to support principals and teachers by providing willing volunteers while contributing to improved outcomes for students.
Who are Watch D.O.G.S.® (Dads Of Great Students)?
Fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, uncles, and other father figures serve on campus for one day or many each year under the leadership of a program coordinator and under the guidance of a school principal or designated administrator. Our program speaks directly to those care-givers and guardians who are statistically less likely to come onto campus to volunteer.
Program Recognition
The WATCH D.O.G.S.® program has been recognized by the United States Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and has been involved in the U.S. Department of Education’s P.F.I.E. (Partnership For Family Involvement In Education) and the Department’s Safe School Summit. The WATCH D.O.G.S.® program is a founding member of National PTA’s M.O.R.E. Alliance (Men Organized to Raise Engagement). The WATCH D.O.G.S.® program was featured on ABC World News Tonight with Charlie Gibson in their “Spirit of America” segment on November 17, 2008, on NBC’s Nightly News with Brian Williams on September 12, 2012 and on NBC’s Today Show which aired February 11, 2013. Also, the program has been recognized on the floor of Congress as a program that “can be a great tool in our efforts to prevent school violence and improve student performance because it can increase parental initiative and involvement in their children’s education.” (Congressional Record, February 7, 2000 page S392) WATCH D.O.G.S.® has been endorsed by the President’s Advisory Council and included in the March 2010 report to the President. In June 2011, US Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan visited a local WATCH D.O.G.S.® program in the DC area to encourage fathers and father figures to become more active in the educational system and to get a firsthand glimpse of the program.
Additionally, the WATCH D.O.G.S.® Program has been featured countless times in local and national news media and on television. You can view a sample of these featured stories here: