Courtesy Dori Leyko
ELPS Superintendent Dori Leyko’s 6-month-old emotional support dog in training, Chevy.East Lansing Public Schools has a rebranded mental health program with a popular new addition – a furry four-legged friend, Chevy. The 6-month-old “comfort dog” is in training to be the district’s own emotional support dog as of April 2022, said Dori Leyko, Chevy’s owner and district superintendent.
Chevy is his own kind of ELPS student. The pup began at the district over the summer, getting acclimated to the building and dynamic of a public space, said Leyko. His schedule involves coming into the high school with her two to three days each week, visiting classrooms and hanging around the building. He is also available for visits on special requests. Leyko said, “The principal at Glencairn Elementary is a fan of having dogs available to help kids, so I dropped him off in the morning and then picked him up on my way home, and it was kind of like he went to school for the day!”
The puppy will eventually graduate to be a full-time emotional support dog after he turns 1 inApril. Leyko has been in contact with Buddy’s Pet Assisted Learning Service (PALS) in Lansing to enroll Chevy in its program, said co-owner Joan Spagnuolo.
Buddy’s PALS serves school districts across the Greater Lansing area by providing emotional support dogs that make regular visits to classrooms for a few hours several times each week, Spagnuolo said. The dogs spend their first hour in special-needs classrooms, then spend the second hour with any students who have requested Buddy’s PALS time. Handlers bring “Buddy’s Bags” filled with coloring books, stress balls, and blankets to engage students while they interact with the dogs.
Even as a PALS dog in training, Leyko said Chevy’s presence in the schools has helped her make meaningful connections with students. The superintendent reflected on a situation over the summer in which an elementary student was reluctant to come into the school – but Leyko happened to have Chevy with her. “I asked ‘Do you want to walk with my puppy and me to class?” The boy asked if he could actually carry Chevy in, so he did. All the kids were so excited to see him and this boy ended up just smiling ear to ear.
“It’s just a small story, but the potential impact is huge,” added Leyko. Chevy’s impact is just part of the many initiatives ELPS has taken in the past year to address mental health.
“We realized there were going to be a lot of varying needs this school year with everyone coming back,” Leyko said. “Morning meetings” are daily check-ins held by teachers to connect students to their peers and to the school. Further, ELPS hired a district-wide “Wellness Leader” who began the week of Sept. 27. The position focuses on implementing strategies to better support staff and students, as well as helping to connect students and their families with outside resources.
“We have done a great deal to support our students’ mental health at the high school and throughout the district. I really am very proud of our efforts and the personnel who support our kids,” said Lisa Vering, ELPS district psychologist.
For ELPS, “personnel” includes puppy personnel, of course. “I’ve always believed in the power of dogs with kids in school,” Leyko said.