PAYNESVILLE (WJON News) — A Paynesville teacher’s use of dogs to teach students has turned into a unique benefit for the entire school. Physical Education and Health Instructor Jen Andrist started her “New You” course in 2019 as a mental health awareness class to help students learn about themselves.

After the class was established she started using her dog as a way to teach students that just as dogs have different personalities so do people. What started with one dog has turned into a rotation of four dogs that not only are used in the class but are in her classroom all day long for students, teachers, and staff to come visit if they need a break or are having a bad day to help relieve stress.

Andrist says being able to visit the dogs has turned into a highlight of the day for both students and staff alike:

“The Dean of Students, daily, will stop in. He’s like this is my highlight of the day, he’ll get down on his knees and the dog comes and he gives’em a belly rub you know, it’s fun because the dog will search out that time and wait for that person’s voice to come, you know just meets’em at the door.”

She says the dogs have helped build a community at the school:

“You can build a community, where I have, like I said, staff, to students, to anybody, everybody is always welcome, there lunch break or whatever and when they are just having a bad day and they maybe don’t have the right words to express it or explain it the dog is always there happily to greet them.”

High School Principal David Oehrlein says the whole “New You” experience has been great for both students and the school:

“The classes that Jen teaches with the New You, it really is just, she does a really good job of creating a kind of calming atmosphere and a place where kids can, you know, feel safe and I think incorporating the dogs in there has really paid a big part in that.”

He says it is a nice benefit for everyone to be able to take a break and visit the dogs:

“It’s a good way for them to, you know, maybe take a break from what’s going on at school and, you know, sit in an environment where the dogs are in there.”

Andrist says she enjoys working with kids and loves animals so being able to combine the two is amazing. She continued by saying her classroom is not a traditional one in order to help build a relaxed learning environment and she gears it towards that because of some of the sensitive topics the “New You” class has to cover.

All four of Andrist’s dogs are certified therapy dogs and Andrist is certified to train dogs to be therapy animals as well. Andrist also received a $2,000 grant from Pawsitivity to help keep the “New You” program going.

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