Partnership with River Bend School

REACHING THIS GOAL WILL EXPAND THE PAWS FOR LEARNING PROGRAM INTO TWO ADDITIONAL CLASSROOMS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR!!

Kids love dogs ... and often dogs can teach children important social-emotional lessons better than adults. Research shows that contact with animals lowers heart rates and decreases stress levels.

The partnership between the River Bend School and Paws for Learning is a pilot program in the district of Minneapolis. This work will empower urban at-risk elementary students to find healthy ways to express themselves, improve socialization and communication skills, develop positive coping strategies, improve self-esteem & increase school engagement & success.

Our elementary program serves students with the highest levels of behavioral and emotional needs (EBD) in the district. Our students attend this program because their behaviors are dangerous to themselves or to others - these behaviors have had a very negative impact on their academic performance. We are a small, self-contained site with a very high teacher-student ratio. Our families primarily live in the surrounding low-income urban community and struggle with issues such as homelessness, addiction, instability and neighborhood violence. Last year, many of our families were affected by a tornado that destroyed many city blocks near our school.

For these students, social-emotional challenges are the primary barriers to academic achievement.

When the dogs come to River Bend, staff and students report they feel more relaxed, less anxious and they perceive school to be a more enjoyable place to learn and teach.