Slippery Rock School District board members were told a tale about how a dog can be a teaching aide for children with learning disabilities.

A student from Jean Allison's learning support class, Kai Hess, a Slippery Rock first-grader, attended a public meeting Monday to demonstrate how he reads to Sadie, a golden doodle owned by Sara Whitman, a Slippery Rock School Board member and chairwoman of the board's education committee.

Allison, an elementary special education teacher who hosts Paws for Reading in her classroom, gave Kai a paper cutout of a bone, which she said is passed from student to student to acknowledge whose turn it is to read with Sadie.

Then Kai sat on a mat on the floor with a book in hand. He looked at Sadie and smiled, then focused on the book. He read the words loudly, clearly and fluidly.

As Kai received a round of applause, Whitman gave the boy a treat to pass along to Sadie, which happens every time a child finishes reading to the dog. If this were an ordinary part of the program, Kai would have received a sticker, which the child would use to keep track of his reading skill development.

Allison said Kai is one of many to excel in the program, which she uses with kindergarten to second-grade students in her learning support class.

Allison said data from 13 anonymous students showed improvement in almost every student's reading skills.

“We had a lot of good data,” Allison said. “We've had nothing but positives.”

Whitman visited the classroom with Sadie on Tuesdays and Thursdays from March through May. Each student got a turn to read with the dog.

“The time varied between five and 10 minutes of reading per week (per student,)” Allison said.

Allison said the program also teaches the children valuable life skills in interacting with animals.

She said she is hoping the program will continue next year.

“Any extra reading is beneficial,” Allison said.

Nikki Hess said she has noticed her son's love for reading blossom, even at home.

“He came home and read to my new puppy (on Monday,)” Hess said.

She said now Kai is exploring more books than she imagined.

“There were books at home I never thought he'd read,” she said. “It was amazing when he starting reading these books at home.”

Hess said she looks forward to Kai's participation in the program next year, and she is thankful for the passion it has already given her son to read.

“It was a good thing for them to start this (program) at this school,” Hess said. “Getting him to read more made my day.”

Whitman said she's also looking forward to donating more of Sadie's time next year.

Whitman said she got Sadie as a 9-week-old puppy because her daughter wanted a dog. She said Sadie, now 3, is a loving pet.

“Everybody is her best friend from the get-go. It's almost annoying because she wants to be best friends with everybody and not everyone wants to be her friend,” Whitman said. “She works out really well with the kids.”

Whitman said Sadie has acquired a taste for the job.

“She wears a particular harness whenever we go to school,” Whitman said. “She knows when we put that on that it's time to go to work. She's ready to go when we hit the door. She's ready to go down the hall to Mrs. Allison's classroom.”

She said she and Sadie are both looking forward to next year.

“The fact that kids are excited to go to school, means we are doing our job,” Whitman said.