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CAREing Paws in
Coweta
By Bradley Hartsell bradley@newnan.com CAREing Paws, a unique program that uses registered therapy animals to assist and improve reading skills and communication, recently visited Newnan. The group was established over nine years ago and employs a special method of animal therapy that allows trained dogs to visit schools, libraries and other settings to serve as reading companions. Founder Melissa Saul and her team of 100 volunteers have hosted training sessions throughout middle and North Georgia including Coweta and Fayette counties. CAREing Paws is an affiliate of the READ (Reading Education Assistance Dogs) program, created to improve reading and communication skills by allowing a child or other
participant to read to the animal. Reading aloud to an animal companion often eliminates anxiety by eliminating embarrassment or judgment from peers. “We’ll work with kids who have a dislike for reading, or are nervous or anxious about reading for whatever reason,” said Saul, who has black labs, Gina and Annie, as her therapy dogs. “They’re often frustrated or embarrassed when reading in class, but with CAREing Paws, the dog is not going to laugh or judge them.” The CAREing Paws team includes both dogs and cats and their trained handlers. The team will visit schools and libraries with the animal and find a quiet room in which the participant can read to the animal for 15 to 20 minutes. “The kids will show the dog the pictures in the book. It’s magical,” said Saul, who explained how the CAREing Paws dogs have been taught commands to make the reading experience as pleasurable for the participant as possible. Saul says not only can the handler notice improvement in the child over the course of
their sessions, but teachers note the improvement in a child, as well as having the child’s test scores rise – sometimes a full grade higher – after he or she participates in CAREing Paws. “Most of the children that are struggling readers are very often the target of some embarrassment or the teacher might even point them out. Sometimes parents do it, and they often don’t realize they’re the reason for their child’s anxiety,” Saul said. “With CAREing Paws, there’s a shift from the target to the tutor. It builds [the child’s] confidence and that can translate to other subjects beyond reading, as well.” After nine years, CAREing Paws has more than a few success stories. Saul notes an instance in which a child came to Powell Library, one of the program’s original venues for animal assistance, because she hated to read. “I think she was picked on at school and her self-esteem was pretty low,” Saul said. “The child started reading to the dogs and did a fantastic job. It was a 180-degree turnaround.”
At Powell Library, a young girl spends time with therapy dog Fiona, a boxer, who is handled by Debbie Beard.
Now, years later, that girl has become a teenager. Saul reports that she is still in contact with the girl’s family, and has recently learned that the little girl who hated to read now hopes to become a writer. Another of Saul’s favorite success stories involves a young boy who loved playing baseball and other sports but experienced difficulties in reading. The program members selected books for the child with a subject matter of baseball. The group hoped that by
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Kiwanis donates $180K to area nonprofits By Sarah Fay Campbell sarah@newnan.com
The Newnan Kiwanis Club donated $180,000 to 31 local organizations from its 2014 Kiwanis Coweta County Fair proceeds. Many local organizations have been getting funding through the Kiwanis Club for years, while others are recent additions. Organizations must apply for funding each year, and recipients are asked to volunteer at the fair as well. “I believe that the Kiwanis Club is an absolute blessing to the nonprofits of Coweta County,” said Ginger Jackson-Queener, chairwoman of the Coweta Community Foundation. “They are an amazing partner with the nonprofits. It kind of takes it full circle when you are sitting there working the fair alongside those Kiwanians.” Queener said it really hits home to her to see all the members of the community coming to the fair and spending their money. When people do that, “they are supporting the nonprofits in this community in a very big way and that is a beautiful thing. “It really makes you proud to be a part of the community,” Queener said. The Kiwanis Club makes money off the fair through entrance fees, and the club gets a percentage of the money the amusement company makes off the rides. There are also sponsorships. This year’s grant presentation ceremony was held recently. Family Patterns Matter, which works with youth to deal with issues such as bullying, was a first-time grant recipient this year. “I was so excited when I heard that I got a grant from them,” said Executive Director Linda Kirkpatrick. “Because it’s like, wow, somebody finally understands what we’re trying to do.” “The community, through the civic clubs, is beginning to understand the importance of our youth and what is going on with them, and that money will help us do what our program is meant to do, and that is address the issues that our kids are going through,” she said. The Friends of Chattahoochee Bend State Park is another first-time recipient. The Friends “have worked for the last six years to beautify, improve and build recreational amenities at the 3,000 acre state park,” said Dean Jackson of the Friends group. The funds from the Kiwanis Club “will go toward completing construction of a new 60-foot pedestrian bridge on the park’s Riverside Trail. That bridge is the
largest and last of three bridges in the first-mile section of the Riverside Trail, which takes hikers to the observation tower. The bridges make the trail much more accessible to visitors of all ability levels, including children, and our friends chapt e r i s c o m m i tted to encouragGinger Jackson-Queener ing more children a nd fa m i l ie s to enjoy the park and use it as an educational opportunity.” The Newnan Kiwanis Club has been supporting Coweta CASA – Court Appointed Special Advocates – since 2005, said Executive Director Traci Corné. “Without their funding we wouldn’t be able to train new volunteers or offer in-serving training to existing volunteers. Their funding is just critical to our success … the fair proceeds really help us serve the most vulnerable members of our community, which are our abused and neglected kids.” CORRAL, the Coweta Organization for Riding, Rehabilitation, and Learning, used its fair funds to purchase a new horse for its driving program. The new horse can both pull the cart for the driving program and be ridden by the special needs clients. “The Kiwanis Club has supported us ever since we started in 1987,” said Marie Powell of CORRAL. “They are a big support, not only in money but also in volunteers. The Kiwanis Club has been very, very good to us.” The driving program is great for clients who can’t ride on horseback, either because of their size or their disability. “We have a cart that some guys made for us that we can put a wheelchair on and lock it down. They can use the reins and drive. They get to learn the same skills and they get to go a lot faster,” she said. The Kiwanis Club is aware of what is going on with local organizations, she said. “They know what these agencies are doing,” Powell said. And the money the club raises at the fair stays in Coweta. Kelly Abercrombie of Coweta County
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Dan Coleman and Shirley Wold participate in a STEM activity with the Coweta Water Education Team.
Coweta works to highlight STEM By Celia Shortt celia@newnan.com
The Coweta County School System is in its second year of a STEM recognition program to help its schools prepare students for the real world. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math, and focuses more on invention and critical thinking in education rather than just reading and answering questions about the content. “We’ve been doing STEM way before it was cool,” said Dr. Donald White, science content specialist for CCSS. “We’re preparing students for the real world.” Through the program, teachers and schools can become Coweta STEM certified. Coweta’s program is separate from the state’s STEM recognition. In Coweta County Schools, all the STEM activities and lessons are project-based and include a real world problem. They have design components and include communication and writing. Students are solving a problem that “doesn’t have just one right answer,” said White. “They are also learning how to deal with failure – refining, improving, and getting it better.” “It’s inspiring creativity and letting kids solve problems in a place it is okay to fail,” he added. “Getting them to see problem solving will follow them forever, and if they are good at it, they will be good at life.” Another element of STEM is community involvement. Businesses and organizations in the area team up with students and teachers, so they can hear from professionals about how their lessons fit into the working world. In Coweta, business members visit schools and talk to students, but they are
also involved with the Central Educational Center. At the CEC, students partner with Coweta businesses and colleges as part of their curriculum. At a recent critical issues forum by the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, key businesses in Georgia shared how important these partnerships are. “Why is a business getting into education,” said Beth Adcock Shirorishi, president of At&T Georgia. “Because we want to survive. We need these people (students) to survive.” Shirorishi said another way AT&T partners with education is by committing to so many hours of student mentoring. “It gives students career exploration and a meaningful relationship with it,” she said. Dr. Donna Whiting, associate director for teacher education partnerships CEISMC at Georgia Tech, said they also partner with students. We have “partnerships for the same reason as corporate America, to gain access to students who can be employees later,” she said. Another important element to STEM at both the state and Coweta level is making it available to as many students as possible. “STEM certification is an innovative way to help this,” said Whiting. “It provides schools with rubrics, showing them what they must to do focus on STEM.” To make it accessible to Coweta County students, White said in addition to the CEC and its eighth grade career and college academy, CCSS offers a STEM internship program, which allows students to try out different careers, teacher training, and the
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