Therapy dogs make testing ‘stress free’ at King Elementary

Test anxiety is a common concern for teachers, parents, and students, especially this time of year for King students as they prepare to take the state test for the first time.

Each year in April students take the SBAC in Nevada (see related photos in this edition). A state test that determines a school’s overall ranking.

This year, King was ranked four star and we are hopeful that we will remain at that level or improve to five-star status, the highest ranking a school in Nevada can achieve. To support our students with test anxiety a group of community members and teachers came up with the idea of using therapy dogs to relax and alleviate stress for students during SBAC testing.

Tuesday was our first day of testing and I truly believe that the use of therapy dogs has made a huge difference for our students.

The stress and worry that we normally see on some of their faces has been replaced with a look of relaxation as students took a break from the test to pet and walk the therapy dogs.

All of us at King would like to thank Lisa Flewellen and her dog Condi, an Australian Labradoodle, as well as Patty and Richard Elkins and their dog, Bernadette, a Bernese Mountain Dog.

Thank you Lisa, Patty, Richard, Condi, and Bernadette for making this testing season stress-free for King students.