04/14/2023
Meet Barney! 🐾🐾🐾 News today about a FANTASTIC addition coming soon to the hallways of Marietta City Schools 🐾🐾🐾
Dear MCS Families,
In partnership with the City of Marietta, we are excited to introduce you to Barney, a Labrador Retriever who will join School Resource Officer Paul Hill in his daily duties at Marietta City Schools. Barney is a “crisis response canine” with two years of intensive, compassionate training that allows him to read human reactions and respond appropriately to humans’ emotional needs. We look forward to Barney providing crisis support and comfort care to the children–and even adults–in our district.
What will Barney do? Barney will spend his days with Officer Hill, who travels between all the MCS elementary schools (and occasionally with the older students). Barney will serve as a member of our school support teams and will work in many capacities, including:
Being a reading buddy for our young learners;
Resting his head on students’ laps or shoulders when they are having a difficult day;
Acting as a calming intervention and distraction for a student in the emotional behavior disorder unit;
Being brushed and groomed by students with autism to provide a rhythmic, calming environment during over-stimulating situations; and
Serving as a silent support for a child to hold on to or pet during stressful times.
We at Marietta City Schools believe that Barney will be an innovative and impactful addition to the services we provide your children. However, we understand that some children are allergic to or fearful of animals. If you have any concerns regarding Barney, please contact Officer Hill at [email protected].
We look forward to welcoming Barney into the Blue Devil community!
Sincerely,
Grant
Grant Rivera, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Marietta City Schools
250 Howard Street NE
Marietta, GA 30060