- Title: Therapy dogs help New York immigrant kids clear reading hurdles
- Date: 16th May 2016
- Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (MAY 16, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF AELANE VASQUEZ, NINE-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 57 READING TO THERAPY DOG IZZY IZZY LICKING VASQUEZ MORE OF VASQUEZ READING (SOUNDBITE) (English) AELANE VASQUEZ, NINE-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 57, WHOSE PARENTS ARE FROM MEXICO, SAYING: "I love reading to Izzy because he listens to me and he doesn't make fun of me when I make a mistake." WIDE VIEW OF STUDENTS IN CLASSROOM READING POETRY STUDENTS RAISING HANDS VASQUEZ IN CLASS (SOUNDBITE) (English) AELANE VASQUEZ, NINE-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 57, SAYING: "Because I get nervous and Izzy listens to me and in the class, sometimes they are talking to their friends." WIDE VIEW OF MARLON MAITA, EIGHT-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 57, WHOSE PARENTS ARE FROM ECUADOR, READING TO IZZY VARIOUS OF MAITA READING TO IZZY (SOUNDBITE) (English) MARLON MAITA, EIGHT-YEAR-OLD STUDENT AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 57, SAYING: "I like reading to Izzy because he listens to me, like how do I read. When it was the first time I read to him I kind of was surprised then I started reading more." IZZY LISTENING STUDENTS ENTERING LIBRARY WITH BRIDGET MCELROY, ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) TEACHER AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 57 (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRIDGET MCELROY, ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) TEACHER AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 57, SAYING: "All students that we work with in the READ. program, were behind reading levels at the beginning of the year. Most of them have caught up to where they should have entered, if not surpassed that. So their reading levels are definitely closer to where they should be." VARIOUS OF CLASS READING MAITA READING WITH FRIEND (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRIDGET MCELROY, ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE (ESL) TEACHER AT PUBLIC SCHOOL 57, SAYING: "Not only do the kids have time to practice reading, what we are really seeing is that they are excited to read, and they are motivated to practice even when Izzy is not here. And as a classroom teacher that is phenomenal because there is very little that I can do to convince a kid to go home and practice reading, where 20 minutes a week with Izzy is all that they need." LESLIE HIGHT, THERAPY DOG HANDLER AND IZZY, NINE-YEAR-OLD HAVANESE THERAPY DOG IZZY LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) LESLIE HIGHT, THERAPY DOG HANDLER, SAYING: "Just learning to have Izzy be more responsive, sit, stay, down, basic commands, but also he is graded on his temperament. They watch how dogs interact with other dogs, with people, certainly in school setting." VARIOUS OF LORRAINE HASTY, PRINCIPAL OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 57 GREETING STUDENTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) LORRAINE HASTY, PRINCIPAL OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 57, SAYING: "It has really raised their reading levels and their ability to articulate during reading and fluency has really been increased because of the program. It's a terrific program, and I feel it should be in every school." SIGN READING "BE PREPARED TO READ" VASQUEZ READING TO IZZY IZZY LISTENING VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 57
- Embargoed: 31st May 2016 22:01
- Keywords: R.E.A.D. New York therapy dogs reading literacy East Harlem immigrants
- Location: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- City: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Education,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA0014I25QOP
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Izzy rested his chin on the knee of third grader Aelane Vasquez at Public School 57 in Spanish Harlem on Monday (May 16) and hung on every word she easily read aloud from a book that would have stumped her just months ago.
Therapy dogs like Izzy, a grey Havanese with non-judgemental eyes, are the heart and soul - and wagging tail - of a literacy program called Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ) that encourages struggling young readers in schools and public libraries.
"I love reading to Izzy because he listens to me and he doesn't make fun of me when I make a mistake," said Vasquez, 9, who read "Cam Jansen: The Mystery of the Circus Clown."
Immigrant children face the added challenge of mastering English as a second language, a hurdle for many at P.S. 57, where families like Vasquez's hail from countries like Mexico, Dominican Republic and Ecuador, said officials from Intermountain Therapy Animals (ITA), which founded READ in 1999.
Primarily geared toward students in kindergarten through third grade, READ serves 175 children in New York City schools alone, according to its affiliate New York Therapy Animals.
To become a therapy dog, the animal and handler as a team have to go through extensive training, which the New York Therapy Animals provides.
"Just learning to have Izzy be more responsive, sit, stay, down, basic commands, but also he is graded on his temperament. They watch how dogs interact with other dogs, with people, certainly in school setting," explained Izzy's handler Leslie Hight.
A student who can't read at grade level by the end of third grade is four times less likely to graduate high school by age 19, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. In the United States, an estimated 45 million adults are functionally illiterate, according to the Literacy Project Foundation.
At P.S. 57, third grade students were reading below grade level when they started working with Izzy in October, said teacher Bridget McElroy. By early May, nearly all of them had caught up to - or surpassed - their grade level.
And what's more, the program boosts their interest in reading, which McElroy called "phenomenal."
"There is very little that I can do to convince a kid to go home and practice reading, where 20 minutes a week with Izzy is all that they need," McElroy said.
The pilot program at P.S. 57 is a success said the school's principal Lorraine Hasty, who wants to continue with the program in the future.
"It has really raised their reading levels and their ability to articulate during reading and fluency has really been increased because of the program. It's a terrific program, and I feel it should be in every school," she said.
Currently READ is in 10 New York City schools and many have signed up to participate in the program. There is a waiting list however, as not enough handlers and dogs are available to serve all the schools. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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