Ishani Khanna ‘25
Providing support to students and adopting new ways to address their mental health is of the utmost importance to school administrations, and EA is no exception. We have all learned from personal experience that stress is difficult to manage. One way to tackle stress is the frequent presence of therapy dogs on campus. These trained animals have been called “miracle workers” because of their calming effect on students and teachers that reduces tension. Regular visits from therapy dogs will profoundly impact the well-being of EA students, staff, and our overall school environment.
Courtesy of Andrea Yu
Upper School Librarian Andrea Yu affirms this need for additional emotional support during the school day, saying, “When we’re going through stressful times when a lot of things are demanded from us, it’s nice to have those moments of relaxation, and I don’t think that the school can’t be somewhere where you can find those moments. Having something fun like a therapy dog brings that relief for people. It doesn’t always have to be so tense. Life shouldn’t be like that.” Miller Michalczewski ‘25 agrees with the mental and mood boosts that result from spending time with therapy dogs saying, “Seeing the dogs around campus would make everyone’s day. It would be like a little boost of energy in the shape of a dog, which can bring so much happiness and a sense of calmness to the school.”
Numerous studies support the idea that therapy dogs benefit students. Matia Finn-Stevenson, a research scientist at Yale University, says, “The practice of using canine assistants in schools for mental health is becoming more widespread, having a man’s best friend around is boosting morale for students and staff alike.” Similarly, another investigation conducted by a team of psychology professors at the University of British Columbia found that university students reported significantly less stress and anxiety, and increased happiness and energy immediately following spending time in a drop-in session with a dog compared to a control group of students who didn’t spend any time with a therapy dog.
Given the research findings on the impact therapy dogs can have on student and staff well-being, educational institutions are increasingly embracing therapy dog programs as an inexpensive way of providing social and emotional support. For example, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) has recently launched a program in collaboration with North Shore Animal League America that lets educators adopt a dog and bring it to school to work with them. The program has been so popular that the DOE expanded it from seven to nearly forty elementary, middle, and high schools this year. “Principals are saying that they’re also helping with teacher morale,” explains Jaye Murray, the former Executive Director of the Office of Counseling Support Programs for the New York City DOE. He continues, “When teachers are having bad days, they feel like they can go to the dogs. Or when principals are stressed out, they have the dogs to go to.
In recent years, EA has brought a therapy dog on campus to boost student morale during exams. Yu is optimistic that therapy dogs will be able to return to EA later in the school year, stating, “It’s hard to gauge where we will stand as a school or as a human race when it comes to COVID-19 in the spring, but I am hopeful to get a therapy dog back for finals week.” Thane Graham ‘22 notes this positive intent but wants further changes, suggesting, “[The pre-exam week] therapy dogs were a nice idea, but [EA] should have had specific times for one advisory to go at a time. That way you could enjoy it in a group of people you are comfortable with.” By allowing more individualized contact with a therapy dog in a more intimate setting, students will be more likely to have a positive, calming experience and reap the benefits of a trained therapy animal.
Planning and securing therapy dog visits to EA is not as easy as it sounds. There are a number of items that would have to be addressed beforehand, including gaining administrative and faculty support, choosing and inviting the right service dog programs, addressing pet allergies and fears, and setting school-wide expectations, to name just a few. However, if the school was able to plan therapy dog visits several times in the past, why not make these occurrences more frequent, given the enthusiastic student and teacher reactions? Now more than ever it is time to consider having canine companions on campus more regularly.