Students at the Calais School in Whippany will receive a better education and spend more time working with dogs in the Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) Program at the school thanks to a generous grant for the program from the Provident Bank Foundation.

The $15,000 grant will help fund the program, including subsidizing hours for a second Animal Assisted Interventions handler, who will work with the dogs and the students in counseling sessions, occupational therapy sessions, speech, reading lessons and social skills.

Provident Bank SVP Regional Manager Maria Montezuma-Novedo commended the Calais School on its impressive Animal Assisted Interventions Program. “It’s truly a blessing to see a group of people who are so passionate about what they do,” she said. “It is very inspiring.”

And passion for helping special needs students is what has brought the school to celebrate its 50th year.

Calais School Executive Director David Leitner thanked the Provident Bank Foundation for their generous support of the AAI program, which will benefit so many special needs students. “The Calais School is proud to serve 86 students from nine New Jersey counties as we celebrate our 50th year,” he said. “With the pandemic, it has been a challenge for us, as humans, on how to deliver our services effectively, but Calais has risen to the challenge.”

Mr. Leitner said he has been impressed with the way AAI handler Susan Greenbaum has delivered services to students online via Zoom assisting with counseling sessions, occupational therapy and reading using flashcards to communicate with the students. He commended Ms. Greenbaum for helping to build the school’s AAI program. During the pandemic, Ms. Greenbaum has used Zoom and Google Classroom for her dogs to interact with the students and has used flashcards, which her dogs select, and rolled dice to help communicate with students.

At the Calais School, our research has shown that students feel more at ease when they interact with one of our AAI dogs, he said. Animal Assisted Education is structured intervention where our dogs, handlers, and related services professionals collaborate on individualized goals for their students.

The presence of our AAI dogs in and around the school building is quite beneficial, Mr. Leitner said. On a normal school day, our students are greeted in the lobby by at least one of the dogs and a handler. The sense of calm and cheer that the dogs inspire is palpable. Our dogs also attend recreational activities. During the pandemic, our dogs also assisted our students during virtual learning.

During a virtual check presentation ceremony, AAI dog Dunkin gave a little bark to thank the Provident Bank Foundation, which is based in Morristown, for their generosity and support. “You are welcome,” replied Provident Bank Foundation Executive Director Samantha Plotino. “This is the first time that the Provident Bank Foundation has made a donation to a program like this,” she said. “Our board was really blown away by your program and we are very excited to be able to provide the support.”

(This post was originally published on The Calais Foundation website.)