Mark Moran works in Washington and doesn't get home to Howard County until 7:30 p.m. most days. Because of his schedule, he rarely volunteers in the classroom or goes to events at Bellows Spring Elementary School, where his son, Josh, is in third grade.
But on Wednesday, Moran worked from home instead of commuting to his office so that he could take part in a program for fathers called Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students), a national program making its Maryland debut at Bellows Spring in Ellicott City.
Moran and nearly 200 other Bellows Spring fathers, uncles, grandfathers and other men filled rows of fold-out seats in the school cafeteria, munching on pizza and cookies while learning about the program, designed to increase fathers' involvement in schools. Children were invited, too. After watching a video promoting the benefits of Watch D.O.G.S., the kids went to the gym to learn about fire safety, while the men heard more details about how they could get involved.
A cornerstone of the program is encouraging men to volunteer at school, both to improve school safety and to provide male role models
"My wife showed me the brochure and she said, `Here's a great opportunity for you to go as a dad,'" said Moran, who added that he plans to sign up for volunteer time. His company allows a paid community service day, he said, and he thinks being in his son's school will qualify.
"Josh loves when I come to school for something," he said. "I think it's great they're doing it here."
Laurie Lerman, the PTA president, said her goal was to get 20 men to attend the event. Nearly 200 came.
"We never expected something like this, but it doesn't surprise me," Ed Cosentino, the school's assistant principal said to the audience.
He said team leaders and other school officials were overwhelmingly in favor of the idea. "Our goal and Laurie's vision is to institutionalize it and make it part of our normal day," he said.
Joseph Thweatt attended the event with his twin 5-year-old daughters, Lindsay and Nia, who are in kindergarten.
"I think it's great," he said. "When they sent the information home, I said, This is something I'll definitely do.'"
Lerman heard about the program through a friend, Jodi Westrope, who had moved from the Bellows Spring school district to West Virginia. The program was started by the National Center for Fathering, initiated by parent Jim Moore in response to a 1998 middle-school shooting in Jonesboro, Ark.
