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A school in the Eastern Panhandle is the latest recipient of a therapy dog through the Communities In Schools: Friends With Paws program.
Berkeley Springs High School in Morgan County received its very own therapy dog this week named Skye. First Lady Cathy Justice made the announcement in a press release Wednesday.
“I am very happy that we were able to place Skye in beautiful Berkeley Springs,” she said in the release. “I think this will be a great home for her, and I can’t wait to hear about all the ways that Skye’s presence will make a positive impact on students’ lives. This is a day of celebration!”
Skye is the seventeenth therapy dog to be placed in West Virginia’s public schools through Friends With Paws. The program began in April 2022 with the first placement at Welch Elementary.
The therapy dog program, according to the governor’s office, was launched as a way to alleviate some of the social-emotional effects of poverty, addiction and other at-risk situations in the state’s Communities In Schools (CIS) counties.
Gov. Jim Justice also noted at the time of launch that the program would help to combat the emotional effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Therapy dogs, according to the National Institutes of Health, provide a benefit in the classroom by increasing a positive mood and providing anti-stress effects on the body.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting (WVPB) last year produced a documentary on the Friends With Paws therapy dog project under the same name. It can be viewed for free on WVPB’s YouTube channel or through PBS Passport.
“Berkeley Springs High School is very thankful for this opportunity through the Friends With Paws program. We are extremely excited to have Skye with us to support and comfort our students,” Principal Mitch Nida said.
Friends With Paws is a partnership between the governor’s office, West Virginia Communities In Schools, and the West Virginia Department of Education.
Fifty-three of the state’s 55 counties are part of CIS.
This is the seventh time this year - and the tenth time in the last three years - that the state Board of Education has intervened in a local school system.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsGameChanger, a statewide prevention education program, is funded by the business community, the government and private companies, according to its founder. But they are also being funded by a new source of money: global opioid settlement funds.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsA Virginia nonprofit reported that portions of the Shenandoah River face E. coli levels high enough to pose a safety concern to visitors.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsApplications are still being accepted for prorated scholarships, and it is anticipated that around 19,000 students will participate in the 2025-2026 Hope Scholarship program.
Continue Reading Take Me to More News
