Facility dog Kempton brings joy to the halls of high school | News, Sports, Jobs

Kempton, the district’s new facility dog — an almost two-year-old Golden Retriever — was funded through a grant from the state. He arrived in the district about four months ago and already he’s been seen at sporting events, in classrooms, walking the halls and just being that comforting presence to students.

“We consider him staff in this building,” said Stephanie Machmer, a Life Skills teacher at the high school and one of Kempton’s three handlers and the one with whom he lives when school is out.

His job is to provide emotional support for the students, but “he provides so much joy,” Machmer said.

When he first arrived at the school in October, he spent one day a week there. Gradually, the amount of time was increased until now he is there every day. His home base is in Machmer’s Life Skills classroom.

Jersey Shore High School students give “Kempton” a scratch at the Dawg Pound Coffee Shop in the high school Wednesday afternoon.
Kempton is a facility dog who visits classrooms and spends time with students in the school and is a calming influence on the students he interacts with.
DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“My students have learned the responsibility of having a pet. They get his water, they make sure he has what he needs. They remind me if he goes to the door that I need to take them out,” Machmer said.

But beyond just being present in class, Kempton’s job is so much more.

“He’s super intuitive to those who need him. You know, animals just have that sense,” she said.

“We will be working on something and he will just go lay next to somebody and it’s inevitably somebody who needs him that day. They might be anxious about something or worried or had a rough night at home. And we found that all over the building,” Machmer said.

Kempton has two other handlers, Patty Hess, a health and physical education teacher, and Heidi Walker, a guidance counselor in the district. They have both had similar experiences with Kempton’s sensitivity to students.

“One of the main reasons I helped in pursuing a facility dog is all the research points to a facility dog helps to break down barriers to learning for students. These barriers range from severe to tolerable. They are anything from anxiety, acceptance, loneliness, stress, and intellectual or physical challenges, and truancy,” Hess said.

“A dog has the ability to break down these barriers if even for a short period of time that he is in contact with them. We have witnessed this every day that Kempton has been with us. I am still amazed at the impact he has (had) on our students and staff in the short amount of time he has been with us,” she added.

Kempton arrives at school each day with Machmer. Then she and the other two handlers work out where he will be and when. He might visit a health class with Hess or another teacher might request Kempton to come and provide his calming presence for students taking tests.

On Wednesdays, Machmer’s class runs a coffee shop for students and staff and Kempton hangs out there visiting with the kids.

“Kids come in, get their coffee, have a little Kempton time and then hit the road. At Christmas time, we did selfies with him and we set up a Christmas backdrop so the kids could come in and take selfies with him. He had a little Christmas scarf and hats, and we had some props for the kids. It was very popular,” Machmer said.

He also goes to the guidance office to be there for a child who might be having a counseling session.

Although she was not a facilitator in bringing a facility dog to the district, Walker already sees the benefits of having Kempton in the building.

“Just seeing the kids smile and their happiness when they see Kempton is priceless,” Walker said.

“From a counseling perspective, I already see that he helps kids feel more at ease with talking about what’s going on in their lives. Having a facility dog eases students’ anxiety and worries. I just wish we could have had him at the beginning of the school year. Last year, I ran a grief support group for students who had lost a parent or caregiver and Kempton would have been a perfect addition to our group meetings. I know that he is already a very integral member of our school community and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for him here at Jersey Shore,” Walker said.

Kempton also has rest periods scheduled into his day because he’s still fairly young and needs some down time.

“He’s tired. In the beginning, he could work for a period then he had to take two periods off. He has a crate behind my desk and the kids know that’s off limits when he’s in his crate. And he actually sleeps — he’s tired. It’s a lot for him. But he does so well,” she said.

“He will come up to you and he’ll back himself into your legs and he wants to be petted and he’ll lay down for belly rubs. He moves around to all the kids and just visits. But then he needs a break after a couple periods of that,” she added.

Machmer said she feels the staff, too, has benefited from Kempton joining their ranks.

“They stop in and visit him,” she said.

“Animals just bring a calmness to people that need it and he brings so much joy, it’s unbelievable. We knew it would be great, we just didn’t know how great it would be,” she said.

“Kids will walk by and they stop to pet him in the hallway. And they’ll say things like, ‘This has made my morning’ or ‘I’m so glad my home room is back in this hallway.’ It’s the best hallway in the building,” she said.

One day when Machmer was bringing Kempton back into the building after a potty break a student walked by and petted him. As he went in his classroom, she heard him say, “That’s the best investment our school has ever made.”