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New Addition Coming to Millis High School
Published on Oct 26, 2018 10:12
Millis High School is excited to be welcoming a new member to its staff. A service dog will be joining the high school family in November. The dog comes to us from NEADS, an agency that trains service dogs for specific roles in the community. These service dogs love to “work” and form bonds with those with whom they interact. NEADS follows a very thoughtful matching process when placing dogs. Our dog has been in training for almost two years to work with students in schools in a supportive way so as not to disrupt learning but maximize it. He was carefully selected based on both his skill set and the needs of our school. The dog will mainly be located in our school adjustment counselor’s office and available for all students to access. Any interactions with the dog will be voluntary. There will also be a protocol followed with the dog on a daily basis, so that those students with allergies are not effected.
Our goal in bringing the dog to Millis High School is to provide students with another social emotional support to access. Service dogs are known for providing many emotional benefits such as stress relief, improved communication, a reduction in anxiety, the promotion of socialization, physiological benefits, the lessening of depression, and an increase in motivation. With these supports in place, students are often more available for learning. We are looking forward to the support that our students will receive from our new addition.
If you have any questions, you can contact our school adjustment counselor, Erin Sullivan, at (508) 376-7034. For more information about NEADS, their dogs, and the wonderful work they do, you can visit their website at https://neads.org/ .
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