Many schools use police-trained German shepherds to keep drugs and weapons out of schools, but the Lafayette School Board in Indiana hopes to introduce a canine companion with a friendlier face. BoardBuzz was pleased to read in Layfayette-West Lafayette Journal & Courier that a session at NSBA’s 2009 Annual Conference inspired these school officials in Indiana to consider a more amiable alternative to traditional police K9s.
During a session entitled “Use Your Four-Legged Friends to Help Your Kids- You Will Be Glad You Did,” officials from DeKalb High School spoke about a unique program in their school that uses Labrador retrievers specifically trained to detect drugs and weapons but not attack. These gentle dogs have become a part of the DeKalb community and mingle with the students while off-duty. They even visit with elementary students during the school day. When it’s time to get down to business, the nonviolent dogs simply sit down in front of the locker or parking lot in which they detect a banned item. An aggressive response is just not a part of their training.
Lafayette Board member Kay Walton told the Journal & Courier that she was impressed with how quickly the dogs reduced the number of drugs and weapons in the DeKalb school. In the course of just one year, the dogs dropped from detecting dozens of hits first semester to finding only one during the second semester.
The Lafayette board hopes to also add a Labrador retriever to its roster and will likely share the cost of the dog with neighboring high schools. Other school officials who hope to purchase a furry friend should note that the initial training and purchase of a non-aggressive drug-sniffing dog totals only about $2,800- less than the cost of a traditional police dog.
To learn more about the DeKalb program, check out NSBA’s website for the April 2009 Annual Conference. Please click on “Available Handout Material” and scroll to find “Use Your Four-Legged Friends to Help Your Kids- They Will Be Glad You Did.”
And for additional learning opportunities, consider attending NSBA’s Annual Conference in Chicago next April. Like the Lafayette Board, you can take tools back to your district that really work!
