Every Wednesday after first period, students go to their dog team classroom. Many teachers have little time, if any, to prepare and look over dog team lesson plans. 

     Often, kids are unmotivated and don’t have the energy for an extra class and many students lose valuable class time or get unwarranted tardies.The career education credit gained from dog teams is state mandated, but dog teams should be revamped based on student and staff preferences.

     Staff and students agree that dog teams should be once or twice a month. Students should have longer passing periods on days with dog teams. With this change, students will be less likely to be late with classes being farther apart than usual. Having dog teams less could also prevent kids from skipping. Currently students feel like dog teams is a chore, and who wants to do chores?

     Students earn half a credit of career education throughout the four years they do dog teams. This half of a credit is required for graduation by the state, but why not have students earn it less often and on a longer day if possible? Students don’t enjoy going to dog teams the way it is, Staff feel overwhelmed and that they don’t have enough time for the extra class because it’s so often. So, shouldn’t the credit be earned differently in future years with both staff and students’ best interest in mind?    

     Before the pandemic, dog teams used to fall once a month on a Thursday, because of online school; people who are currently seniors and juniors weren’t able to get the credits as fast as they should’ve been. Dog teams was changed to be more frequent so kids could graduate on time. Now that we are back to a standard school schedule, it should be changed back to monthly. Dog teams being weekly leaves staff little time to prepare, and some teachers don’t even have the time to learn what they have to lead the class through. With a changed schedule, staff can be more prepared for lessons and students will be more willing to go and participate.