13 Common WATCH D.O.G.S.® Program Challenges — And How to Solve Them

Running a WATCH D.O.G.S.® program means solving the same handful of challenges that show up on campuses everywhere — some almost every year. Below are 13 of the questions we hear most from PTA leaders, principals, and program coordinators, along with what we recommend and the training and resources built to help.

We have organized the 13 most popular questions at the top of this page, followed by extensive answers.
However, if you have a specific question related to your campus or district, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Our Standard FAQ for schools considering implementing a WATCH D.O.G.S.® Program for the first time, or relaunching the program after a hiatus is below.

Below this list of 13 popular questions is our standard FAQ. We hope you’ll find more of the answers you are looking for there.

Jump to a topic:

1. Isn’t WATCH D.O.G.S.® only for dads?
2. Why follow the proven WATCH D.O.G.S.® system?
3. Our program fizzled after leadership changed
4. Teachers are pushing back on classroom access
5. How should the PTA and campus administration work together?
6. Running WATCH D.O.G.S.® on a Title I campus
7. How do we pay for it?
8. How do we earn the Texas PTA MARS Award?
9. Can we buy individual kit items?
10. Do you offer training?
11. Struggling with recruitment or participation?
12. How do we build more excitement around our events?
13. Solving the scheduling puzzle

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1. Isn’t WATCH D.O.G.S.® only for dads?

One of the questions we hear most is whether WATCH D.O.G.S.® is only for dads, and whether that makes the program feel exclusive to moms, grandparents, and other caregivers. It’s a fair concern, and a few schools have gone as far as changing their program’s name over it, or felt pressure to.

That reaction is understandable, but changing the name isn’t the fix, and it comes at a real cost. The WATCH D.O.G.S.® mission has grown for nearly 30 years because one school’s success inspires the next school to start their own program. When a school changes the name, it’s a bit like a PTA becoming a PTO: it steps out of that chain of inspiration. Programs built from scratch on their own rarely see the same results as programs that follow the proven, refined WATCH D.O.G.S.® system.

The good news is that the inclusivity is already built in. WATCH D.O.G.S.® offers Heroes of the Hallway™ and Moms of Marvelous Students uniforms, both available through the DOGStore, so grandparents, aunts, uncles, moms, and other caregivers all have a place in the program.

The messaging is intentional, though. WATCH D.O.G.S.® leads with dads and father figures because the data is clear: when a program’s messaging directly calls out fathers and male role models, far more of them show up. Statistically, men are less likely to volunteer without that direct invitation. So the approach is to call out dads and father figures first, and then open the door to other caregivers.

There’s a practical upside to that balance, too. WATCH D.O.G.S.® is often one of the few programs that draws in volunteers who don’t typically show up for other PTA asks, genuinely broadening the pool of adults engaged on campus. And more positive role models can only benefit students.

2. Why follow the WATCH D.O.G.S.® system instead of building our own version?

Schools sometimes ask whether they can just build their own version of the program using their own name and materials, usually to save money or keep more control over how it runs. It’s one of the harder questions to answer honestly, since we depend on existing WATCH D.O.G.S.® schools to help spread the initiative, and it’s only official schools that are contributing to the effort to bring it to more communities. We ultimately want what’s best for students, and we hope that what we offer, training, tools, support, and a track record of success, turns out to be what’s best for your school community too.

These “copycat” programs come up often enough that we jokingly refer to them as COPY C.A.T.S.: Copying A True Standard, Cloning A Tested System, Credit Absent Trying Something, Claiming Another’s Trademarked Success. Our favorite, though, is Campus At least Trying Something.

You can start your own program, but you can’t use the WATCH D.O.G.S.®, Heroes of the Hallway™, or Dads of Great Students names, because they’re copyrighted and trademarked. We protect them for two reasons. First, so no one else can manufacture and sell unauthorized uniforms, which would cut into the funding that keeps our training, outreach, and support free for schools. Second, and just as important, because we want every school running the program to follow the same proven framework. The program is customized to each campus, but the system underneath it is consistent everywhere. That’s what makes WATCH D.O.G.S.® synonymous with a successful community engagement program that also brings in fathers and father figures, not just a nice idea that sometimes works.

It’s also worth saying plainly that most schools simply don’t have the resources, whether that’s funding or volunteer hours, to build something as effective as WATCH D.O.G.S.® from scratch. The tools and guidelines in the WATCH D.O.G.S.® kit have been refined over years, in collaboration with administrators, educators, volunteer coordinators, and parent engagement specialists, specifically so they’re easy to customize to a campus while still delivering everything a program needs in one box, backed by unlimited support. There’s something to the movement itself, too: nearly 30 years and over 3 million volunteers strong. For a lot of dads, joining something that size is more inspiring than joining a one-off campus initiative.

We’ve seen this play out directly. One school had built its own version of the program under its own name and managed to get four dads to show up the entire school year. After switching to WATCH D.O.G.S.®, buying the kit, following the 7 Steps to Success, using the tools inside it, and giving dads their uniforms and launch video, that number grew to five times as many dads the following year, with a goal of reaching 10% of their student population represented by fathers or father figures and growing further from there.

Another school had a similar copycat program drawing just four or five dads. After switching to the WATCH D.O.G.S.® kit and implementing its tools, they grew to 21 dads signed up, most for multiple shifts, totaling over 80 WATCH D.O.G.S.® days on campus in a single year. What made the difference wasn’t just the name and logo, recognized nationwide by a couple of generations of fathers and father figures. It was the tools, training, and support behind it.

3. Our program used to run well, but it fell apart when our old leadership moved on. Now what?

This is one of the most common reasons a once-successful WATCH D.O.G.S.® program quietly stalls out: the person who ran it moves on, and the next few years try to limp along without a clear system.

Free training and step-by-step resources solve this almost every time. It usually isn’t that the new team is doing something wrong. They simply don’t have access to the tools and training the program needs to keep running the way it used to.

One structural fix we recommend to prevent this from happening again is to have a Top Dog at every grade level. One can serve as the primary program lead, while the others learn the role alongside them, ready to step in and take over when the time comes. That built-in succession plan is what keeps a program running smoothly through leadership turnover instead of collapsing when one person moves on.

If your program has already gone quiet, know that you’re far from alone, and we’re genuinely built for this. Thousands of programs lost momentum during the pandemic, and relaunching schools out of an unintended hiatus has become something we’ve gotten really good at supporting. Reach out to us directly. We’re here to help.

The most important advice for any relaunch is to follow the steps, and don’t skip the Launch Event. It’s the step schools most often cut when they’re short on time, and it’s the one that does the most to rebuild momentum.

A couple of additional tips help relaunches, and any program, regain visibility fast. At the elementary level, have your Top Dogs step into the Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms at Meet the Teacher Night to introduce the program directly to incoming families. Visibility is key. At the middle school level, set up a table at any back-to-school event on campus, and be proactive about calling out to dads and other male caregivers in the room rather than waiting for them to approach you. And at any level, re-establish visibility by having a group of new recruits hang out at these events, or in the car line, during the first couple weeks of school. And don’t skip the Launch Event, at least not until the program is very well established, and even then it isn’t advised.

That visibility matters more than most people expect. Parents and guardians, especially dads, are far more likely to sign up when they see other people already taking part, whether they witness it firsthand or hear about it later when they get “voluntold” by their spouse.

Relaunching schools typically get up and running again using the free 7 Steps to Success training, the Great Hall Calendar, a free SignUp.com account, and the WATCH D.O.G.S.® Launch Event Video, which features testimonials pulled from local and national broadcast news stories from across the country and can be customized with your school’s QR code linking directly to your sign-up page.

4. Teachers are pushing back on dads in the classroom, and it’s limiting our program.

A few schools have run into this: teachers raising concerns that dads in the classroom are a distraction, or extra work for whoever’s running the program, which leads some campuses to limit dads to before-school duty or recess only. The concerns tend to trace back to a handful of things: WATCH D.O.G.S.® volunteers who stop signing up because they were only allowed to walk around without really helping, teachers frustrated by dads who hang around the classroom without being genuinely “present,” or administrators worried that bringing volunteers into the building will make teachers uncomfortable with what feels like being observed by strangers.

First, we have to say plainly: WATCH D.O.G.S.® exists to support educators. Full stop. Second, those concerns tend to push the pendulum hard toward one extreme or the other, and neither extreme benefits students. Teachers are already under a lot of pressure, and it’s often easier for a principal to eliminate the program entirely, or dramatically limit its scope, than to add anything that might stress out their staff. Since student success depends so heavily on teachers, supporting their needs comes first.

Two things consistently solve this, and both come straight from the orientation folder and program guidelines built into the WATCH D.O.G.S.® kit.

The first is getting program leadership and teachers in the same room. Hold a meeting between WATCH D.O.G.S.® leadership and teaching staff, and use the teacher survey included in your kit resources so teachers can share their preferences for volunteers in their classrooms or specialty areas.

The second is setting clear expectations with a daily schedule and campus guidelines. Using the templates provided in the kit, build a clear daily schedule and a set of dos and don’ts for dads. Many fathers and father figures simply don’t know what’s expected of them when they show up. Making that clear, whether at check-in, the night before, the week before, or right on your sign-up page, reduces the behaviors that cause classroom distractions.

There’s a second benefit here, too. When dads know exactly what’s expected of them and are put to work in meaningful ways, they feel more comfortable and confident. That leads to a better experience, more dads recommending the program to others, and more dads coming back.

A related version of this challenge is a principal who prefers to keep the program limited to fathers only, which can create tension, including, in some cases, public complaints from moms who feel shut out. What we’ve found is that opening the program to other caregivers, without losing the father-focused messaging, leads to broader support, more appreciation for the program, and far more harmony overall.

5. How should the PTA and campus administration work together on this?

Some programs are run by the PTA, others by a campus administrator or counselor. This question comes up a lot from parent-led volunteer organization leadership, since WATCH D.O.G.S.® tends to bring in more fathers and father figures, which means more members, more contributions, and more helpers. Plenty of PTAs also use the program to generate additional revenue for their organization. How much of that is possible, though, depends on how the program was originally implemented on campus, and more importantly, on the principal’s preference for how it functions and who steers it. Control of the program is always the principal’s prerogative.

Here’s the reality: a lot of programs are brought in by counselors, principals, or assistant principals, sometimes on campuses that don’t otherwise have an effective PTA. Roughly half of WATCH D.O.G.S.® schools are operated and funded by the campus parent-led association, and the other half aren’t. Steering can be, and often is, collaborative between administration and the PTA or PTO.

So what works best? When it’s possible, both. We recommend PTAs approach with supportive questions rather than demands: How can we better support the program? How can we collaborate? Can we contribute uniforms, or bundle them with PTA membership? Can we create a PTA board position for the WATCH D.O.G.S.® coordinator, or a committee for the Top Dogs team helping run the program?

Sometimes a principal keeps the program deliberately limited to match their own vision for the campus. In those cases, the PTA’s job is to understand that vision first. But if the program isn’t getting the results or making the impact you’re seeing at other WATCH D.O.G.S.® campuses, lean on us. We can help your community see that kind of success through collaboration and support. It’s possible to grow the program gradually in a way that accomplishes both the principal’s goals and the PTA’s, and brings the whole campus together, administrators, teachers, staff, students, and parents and caregivers alike.

Using the 7 Steps to Success has proven to be the best way to keep everyone aligned and make sure the program fulfills what every stakeholder needs from it, ultimately improving campus culture and benefiting every student in the community.

6. How do we collaborate with WATCH D.O.G.S.® on a Title I campus?

Title I campuses often assume their funding structure limits how much the PTA can contribute to a volunteer program like WATCH D.O.G.S.®, or aren’t sure where to start the conversation.

Without getting too deep into Title I compliance specifics, our advice is to connect with the principal and the campus’s parent engagement specialist, or the district-level parent engagement coordinator, to find out how the PTA can help supplement Title I funds for the benefit of the program.

A few ways this plays out in practice: Title I funds can sometimes cover pizza night, or the cost of the kit or renewal pack. The PTA can also step in to purchase uniforms, sometimes buying in bulk through the DOGStore and applying a small local upcharge, and gift uniforms to dads who might not otherwise be able to afford to participate.

There are a lot of ways to collaborate on a Title I campus, and this is just a starting point. Reach out to our team if you want to talk through your specific situation.

7. We don’t have the budget to run this program.

Funding is one of the most common barriers schools cite for not starting, or not sustaining, a WATCH D.O.G.S.® program. There isn’t one single fix, but a few tactics consistently work.

Local business sponsorships are one. Have your dads approach local business owners, since some of your dads will be those owners. Insurance agents, realtors, plumbers, and other service-based businesses tend to respond well to this ask, and they’re often a different network than the businesses moms typically approach. Offer them five minutes at pizza night to speak to the group, or a sponsor card next to your WATCH D.O.G.S.® Wall of Fame, the display of photos of volunteering dads and their kids near your front entrance and one of the most effective recruiting tools in the program.

Bulk uniform orders are another. Buy uniforms from the DOGStore in bulk for discounted pricing, then bundle them with PTA membership when you sell them to dads. This increases PTA membership and generates revenue for the program at the same time, and it’s one of the same tactics that helps Texas campuses earn the Texas PTA MARS Award, covered below.

When dads get excited about an opportunity that benefits their kids and the whole campus, and gives them a real sense of pride and purpose, they tend to find the money to make it happen, whether that’s holding their own fundraiser or simply passing the hat. A few other funding avenues worth exploring: Title I funds, Title IV funds, district initiatives, local charities, local churches, regional grants, and program sponsorship. For more fundraising ideas specific to WATCH D.O.G.S.®, reach out to our team or visit the WATCH D.O.G.S.® Leadership Forum replay page.

8. How do we earn the Texas PTA MARS Award?

A lot of Texas PTA leaders aren’t aware this award exists, or don’t realize how directly their WATCH D.O.G.S.® program can help them earn it.

This is a Texas-specific recognition, awarded by the Texas PTA, so it applies to Texas campuses. If you’re outside Texas, it’s worth asking your own state PTA whether a comparable recognition program exists. There are two MARS Awards: one for having a male member on your PTA board, and one for getting 50 men signed up as PTA members.

For the first, the easy fix is to recruit the dad leading your WATCH D.O.G.S.® program to join your board. For the second, buy uniforms in bulk through the DOGStore and encourage dads to purchase theirs bundled with their PTA membership, which drives membership toward that number.

Just remember to apply for the award directly with the Texas PTA so you actually receive the recognition and your ribbons at your next launch event. And once you’ve got them, bring them by. The WATCH D.O.G.S.® team has its own fun ribbons waiting, dad jokes and all.

9. Can we buy individual kit items instead of the full starter or renewal pack?

Some schools want to customize their supplies without purchasing a full new kit each year, or aren’t sure what’s required versus optional. This one comes from every corner of the country, since well over 9,000 campuses have launched a WATCH D.O.G.S.® program at this point.

There are no additional kit purchases required once your program has launched using the initial Start-Up Kit. It includes everything needed to run a true WATCH D.O.G.S.® program and set it up for success: the hundreds of files in the Program Implementation materials, the Implementation Guide, the Orientation and Guidelines folder and templates, uniforms, the recruiting video, and the supplies that have proven valuable for building awareness on campus. Programs that skip pieces of it tend to struggle, which ultimately affects the reputation of WATCH D.O.G.S.® everywhere.

Beyond that initial kit, though, yes, you can purchase individual items directly through the DOGStore. Many schools build out their own supplemental orders over time, whether that’s just the calendar and uniforms, dog tag stickers, or supplies to excite students and reward positive behavior. It depends on how your program runs and what your campus prefers. You can also use individual DOGStore items to replace or replenish anything from your original kit as needed each year.

Many of our more successful programs also purchase the Program Renewal Kit annually, which renews your SignUp.com subscription, swaps in a new calendar, and replenishes the items schools use most, but it’s optional, not required. We only want you to order what you need, and we know not every school has the same resources. If it helps, WATCH D.O.G.S.® accepts purchase orders and can invoice your school or parent involvement program directly for whatever supplies you need throughout the year.

10. Do you offer training?

Program leaders, especially new ones, often aren’t sure what support and training actually exists beyond the printed materials in the kit. The short answer is yes, and there’s more built into it than most people realize.

The core of it is the 7 Steps to Success training, free and available on demand on our website at /take-training. It now comes in three versions, so you can watch the one that actually fits your situation: one for new schools starting the program, or schools looking to restart it; one for new leadership stepping into a program that’s already active; and a short one built specifically for volunteers to watch before their day on duty. We recommend the person running your program revisit the training each year, and that any new leader or volunteer watch the version built for them before stepping in.

We also present the 7 Steps to Success live at conferences, and we’re happy to present it in person or virtually for your own school or district. It’s been presented hundreds of times over the years, evolving and improving along the way based on feedback from program coordinators, educators, counselors, parents, and campus administrators.

Beyond that core training, we offer support in a few other forms. Every kit comes with its own content, including the Program Implementation Guide, which walks you through the day-to-day mechanics of running the program. There’s also WATCH D.O.G.S.® University and our Program Leadership Forums, virtual events designed to give schools direct input from national leadership and from peers running programs elsewhere, plus weekly forum calls scheduled through the fall and sometimes into winter and spring. Many of these are also available in playback on our website, including recordings with featured program partners who present solutions that can complement a WATCH D.O.G.S.® program. If you can’t join live, we can also schedule a dedicated session with your campus leadership team.

As for in-person, one-on-one training beyond conference presentations, that requires reaching out to our office directly. We have field partners and resources, but WATCH D.O.G.S.® operates on a thin budget, and right now we don’t have the funds to fly or drive our own trainers out to individual schools or districts. We’re working toward changing that in the future.

11. Participation is dwindling. How do we turn it around?

A program that used to draw solid numbers starts shrinking, or has never grown much past one or two committed dads. This is one of the most common challenges we hear. Unless there’s an intentional effort to keep growing the program and welcome new dads, not just as volunteers but as part of the team, the program often doesn’t outlast the people who run it. There are plenty of other reasons programs shrink or stall, too.

Start by revisiting the 7 Steps to Success. If any step is being skipped, especially the dedicated fall and spring Launch Events, that’s often where momentum is lost. At those events, you make the case for why a dad’s presence is essential, and he commits to showing up for the ideal: a full day on duty. You can also open up lighter opportunities to support the campus, like lunch duty or morning car line. From there, check whether the dads on campus are actually being given meaningful things to do. If they’re just wandering the halls, they’re not likely to come back. Give them real, useful roles, and they’ll not only return, they’ll recommend the program to other fathers. Increase visibility and communicate the need, and more volunteers will sign up and show up.

The single best long-term recruiting move is to get to your kindergarten and first-grade dads early and stay on their radar. Dads who get hooked on the program when their child is young tend to stick with it the entire time their student is on campus, and they become your best recruiters for the next wave of dads. It’s worth letting them know early that you’re always looking for the right dad to help lead the program as part of a team. Best practice is one or two dads per grade level; if you’re recruiting a single Top Dog, encourage him to build that team, or at least establish a line of progression, so he can hand over the reins before his own child moves on and still be around to mentor the new lead. We offer free training for folks stepping into these roles on our website.

If your program is down to just one or two committed dads and recruiting feels stuck, consider building the dads their own group. Many schools have the dads meet the night after PTA meetings, where the WATCH D.O.G.S.® coordinator or Top Dogs lead attends the PTA meeting and then relays the relevant information back to the group. Making that gathering social, with pizza and casual conversation, goes a long way.

Our national director, Jim Walters, saw this firsthand at his own campus. The moms used to push the dads out the door for “WATCH D.O.G.S.® time,” usually scheduled for about an hour after bedtime so dads weren’t missing out at home. Once a month, or a couple times a semester, tends to work well, with a group chat to keep everyone connected in between. What started as a scheduled obligation became a genuine brotherhood, a tight-knit group of men who leaned on each other, became friends, and made WATCH D.O.G.S.® part of the neighborhood’s culture. New fathers were welcomed in every year, and the kindergarten dads who joined stuck around for the long haul, helping recruit the next group behind them. WATCH D.O.G.S.® isn’t a “guys club,” but it’s often genuinely helpful when a men’s group forms naturally out of the most dedicated volunteers, giving fathers a space to gather and connect. Get that going, and you’ll start seeing dads hanging out in the car line every morning with coffee, dad jokes, and high-fives for kids before heading to work, in addition to the regular shifts they serve throughout the year.

It’s also worth remembering the bigger picture here. WATCH D.O.G.S.®’s presence on campus shows kids that education matters, and gives teachers an extra set of eyes, ears, and hands, whether in the classroom, the workroom, the library, the cafeteria, or at drop-off and dismissal, so teachers can focus on teaching while positive role models reach every student.

If you’re facing a participation dip that doesn’t fit neatly into any of this, reach out to our office. This is exactly the kind of problem we like working through with campuses directly.

12. How do we build more excitement around our WATCH D.O.G.S.® events?

Sometimes turnout for WATCH D.O.G.S.® events is lower than hoped, or the event doesn’t feel like a big deal to families.

The tip most people miss is to make it its own dedicated event. Don’t just set up a table at Back to School Night or Meet the Teacher Night. Hold a standalone campus gathering built specifically around fathers and father figures. Other caregivers are welcome to attend, especially if a child doesn’t otherwise have a positive male role model, but the invitation and messaging should be squarely aimed at dads.

A few ways schools build hype leading up to the event: have dads hang out in the car line handing out flyers or cards, use event reminder stickers, available through the DOGStore, on backpacks or shirts the day of or day before, and consider renting a WATCH D.O.G.S.® mascot costume, also available through the DOGStore, to make an appearance leading up to and during the event. Once you’ve got them in the building, explain why you need each volunteer to do their part, and watch that year’s WATCH D.O.G.S.® Launch Event Video together.

The single most effective tip, though, is to have the request come from the principal. If they can’t attend in person, even a short recorded video of the principal explaining why the program matters and what it means for the student community goes a long way. Dads recruit each other, and PTA leaders recruit within the community, but when the principal personally says “we need you on campus, we want you here, and here’s what the day looks like,” it’s far more effective at reaching that second and third tier of volunteer who wouldn’t otherwise sign up.

13. Solving the scheduling puzzle

Scheduling questions tend to show up in three recurring forms: building custom schedules takes too much coordinator time, some volunteers can’t commit to a full day, and popular programs sometimes have more dads wanting to sign up than shifts available.

For the first, use the standard daily schedule and timeline provided in your kit, paired with a sign-up sheet in the teacher workroom. Every volunteer gets handed the same schedule, which prompts them at the right times of day to check in with teachers for any requests.

For volunteers who can’t stay for the full day, shorter shifts work well. Morning shifts covering car line, breakfast duty, or walking students to class, plus high-fives at the door, are especially popular, and let dads head to work afterward. Lunchtime cafeteria shifts are another easy, low-lift option. A full day is still recommended when possible, since it gives dads the fullest perspective on what teachers and students experience every day, but shorter shifts are often what gets a dad in the building for the first time, and many come back wanting to stay longer.

And when you have more dads wanting to sign up than shifts available, that’s a great problem to have. Some schools work with their principal to open more shifts. Others allow multiple dads on the same day, such as a specific day of the week or the last day before a holiday, or limit sign-ups to one day at a time so shifts spread out across more families. Adding shorter shifts also creates more openings overall. And if you’re working with a principal who prefers to keep shifts limited, reach out to us. We’ve found the right structure can usually address whatever’s behind that concern.

Have a challenge that didn’t come up here? Reach out to our team any time. We’re glad to help.

When Is the Best Time to Launch a WATCH D.O.G.S.®️ Program?

Short answer: Anytime! But the very best time is right now.

One of the most common questions we hear is,
“Should we wait until the beginning of the school year?” While the start of a new school year is a natural time to launch, it’s far from the only time to begin.
The truth is, there is no bad time to start a WATCH D.O.G.S. program.
Whether it’s August, January, or somewhere in between, your school can begin building meaningful family engagement immediately. Every day you wait is another day your students miss out on positive role models in the hallways, extra helping hands around campus, and opportunities to strengthen the connection between home and school.
Launching mid-year also has some unique advantages:

•⁠  ⁠You can generate fresh excitement during a time when school routines may feel predictable.

•⁠  ⁠You have time to build momentum before the next school year.

•⁠  ⁠You can work out your processes with a smaller group of volunteers before expanding the program

Remember, your launch doesn’t have to be perfect. Many successful WATCH D.O.G.S. schools started with a single kickoff event, a handful of volunteers, and one committed coordinator. From there, participation grew naturally as families saw the impact.
The best programs aren’t the ones that waited for the perfect moment—they’re the ones that simply got started.
So if you’ve been asking yourself, “Is now the right time?” the answer is yes.

Your students don’t benefit from a program that’s waiting on the calendar.
They benefit from one that’s in action.
Start where you are. Launch when you can. The best time to make a difference is now.