Staff Spotlight

Lisa Longo, Academic Support, Reading and Writing Tutor, proposed a plan to bring reading therapy dogs into McAlister and worked with Mrs. Jessica Violette, our reading specialist and Mrs. Joy Tierney, our Library Media Specialist, to bring in reading therapy teams each week to McAlister. These teams of handlers and highly trained dogs come in each Tuesday from the organizations of Bright and Beautiful and Fidelco. Students have the opportunity to read to the dogs for about 15 minutes. Dogs are wonderful reading buddies because they do not judge anyone! Mrs. Longo comes to greet the dogs and their handlers and arranges students for reading. We have been visited by Eli, the German Shepherd, Godiva and Molly, chihuahuas, and Wyler, an English cream retriever.

We are so grateful to Mrs. Longo for all of her daily contributions, as well as bringing this amazing program to McAlister.