TRAUMA-INFORMED SCHOOL-BASED STRATEGIES

Improving School Perception of Climate with Two Trauma-informed, School-based
Strategies in an Intermediate School Setting

A Doctoral Capstone Project
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Research
Department of Education

In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Education

Shannon R. Reeder
Pennsylvania Western University
August 2024

TRAUMA-INFORMED SCHOOL-BASED STRATEGIES

©Copyright by
Shannon R. Reeder
All Rights Reserved
August 2024

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Dedication
I dedicate my Doctoral Capstone Project to the amazing people in my life who
have given me unwavering love, support, and encouragement along the way. To my
daughters, Ava and Lucy, thank you for always understanding when I needed to write and
providing the much-needed hugs to get me through the tough days. Of all the things in
my life that make me proud, the two of you are far above all the rest. You amaze me
every day, and I love you. To my parents, no matter what journey life takes me on, you
are my biggest champions and make sure I have what I need to be successful. Thank you
for always being there for me without question, no matter what. To my friends, I could
not have gotten through the last couple of years without you. You have loved me and my
family through all our ups and downs and have provided the laughs, love, and grace that
made our lives feel full. You have believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I love
you all. Finally, thank you to Dr. Jeanine Page, my lifelong friend and loudest
cheerleader. You (and Blaize) made this research study possible, and I will be forever
grateful to you. Not only did you volunteer your time for a year to make the therapy dog
intervention in my school a reality, but you pushed me to keep going when I didn’t think
I could. Your voice of reason and tough love are much appreciated. I can never thank you
enough.

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Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my advisor,
Dr. John Ziegler, for his support, guidance, and encouragement throughout this research.
His insights and expertise have been invaluable to this research project. I am also
eternally grateful to my mentor, Dr. Sherri Connell, for her honest feedback, suggestions,
and advice throughout this process and my entire career. I am truly grateful to have such
a strong female leader in my life. You have been a powerful role model and someone I
will continue to look up to. Thank you for your leadership and your faith in me.
I would also like to acknowledge the teachers and administration at Penns Valley
Elementary and Intermediate School. Implementing trauma-informed interventions was
no small undertaking, and it took classroom teachers' and administration's support and
dedication to make it happen. I am especially thankful to Dustin Dalton for his support
with data collection and organization and his tidbits of humor and encouragement that
helped me get through this project. I am also grateful for Michelle McFall's knowledge,
expertise, and friendship. Her insight on mental health and trauma, as well as her ability
to help me see multiple perspectives, truly inspired me along this journey. Her amazing
friendship and unquestioning belief in me were not overlooked. Thank you for being you,
Michelle!
Most importantly, this research project was possible because of the dedication and
support of Dr. Jeanine Page and her therapy dog, Blaize. Our school is a better place
because of you.
Thank you all for making this accomplishment possible.

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Table of Contents
Dedication………………………………………………………………………………...iv
Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………………………v
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………..xi
List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………xii
Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….xiv
CHAPTER I……………………………………………………………………………….1
Introduction………………………………………………………………….…………….1
Background…………………………………….………………………………………….1
Capstone Focus………………………………………………………………………...….4
Research Questions……………….……………………………………………………….5
Expected Outcomes……………………………………………………………………….6
Financial Implications…………………………………………………………………….6
Summary…………………………………………………………………………….…….7
CHAPTER II Literature Review…………………………………………………………..8
Background of Penns Valley Area School District………………………………………..8
State of Mental Health and Behavior at Penns Valley Area School District….......9
Perception of School Climate at Penns Valley Area School District…………....11
Therapy Dog Interventions in the Educational Setting…………………………………..13
Identified Need for Therapy Dog Interventions………………………………….14
Effects of Therapy Dog Programs on Attendance……………………………….16

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Effects of Therapy Dog Programs on Behavior………………………………….17
Effects of Therapy Dog Programs on School Culture………………...…..……..19
Therapy Dogs and Autism Spectrum Disorder…………………………………………..20
Therapy Dogs and Junior High Students………………………………………...………21
Mentoring Programs for At-risk Youth in the Educational Setting………...……………22
Effects of Mentoring Programs on Attendance…………………………………..23
Effects of Mentoring Programs on Behavior………….…………………………24
Mentoring and Bullying………………………………………………….26
Mentoring and Threat and Risk Assessments…………………...……….26
Effects of Mentoring on School Culture………………………………………….28
Peer Relationships and School Culture………………….……………….29
Trauma Experiences and School Culture………………..……………….29
Mediating Factors………………………………………………………………………..31
Factors Limiting the Effectiveness of Therapy Dog Interventions………………31
Therapy Dogs and Allergy Concerns…………………………………….31
Therapy Dogs and School Safety Concerns……….……………………..32
Factors Limiting the Effectiveness of Mentoring Programs………..……………33
Mentor Commitment…………………………………………..…………34
Challenges and Limitations of Trauma-informed Interventions…………………...…….35
Challenges of Therapy Dog Programs in the Educational Setting…………...….36
Limitations of Therapy Dog Programs in the Educational Setting……………...37
Challenges of Mentor Programs in the Educational Setting…………….…..…..38
Limitations of Mentoring Programs in the Educational Setting….………….…..39

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Implications for Practice…………………………………………………………………40
CHAPTER III Methodology……………………………………………………………..42
Purpose………………………...………………………………………………………..43
Setting and Participants………………………………………………………………....46
Research Plan……………………………………………………………………….…..50
Intervention Structure……………………………………………………………………51
Data Collection…………………………………………………………………………..52
Research Methods & Data Collection…………………………………………………..54
Historical Data…………………………………………….…………………….55
Participant Data…………………………………………………………………58
Fiscal Implications……………………………………………………………….60
Validity…………………………………………………………………………..………61
Summary…………………………………………………………………………....…....63
CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS & RESULTS……………………………...……......64
Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………….64
Results………………………………...………………………………………………….67
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade Office
Discipline Referral Data…………………………………………………………68
Summary of Discipline Data……………………………………………………..71
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade Threat
and Risk Assessment Data……………………………...……………….……….72
Summary of Threat and Risk Assessment Data………………………………..…76

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Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School Fifth and Sixth-Grade
Attendance Data………………………………………………………………….77
Summary of Attendance Data……………………………………………………78
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade School Culture
and Climate Survey Data…………………………………..…………………….79
Summary of Student School Culture and Climate Survey Data………….………80
Summary of the Relationship Between Student Perceptions of School Climate
and Therapy Dog or Mentoring Interventions……….…………………………..81
Teacher Perceptions of School Climate………………………………………….83
Summary of the Relationship Between Teacher Perceptions of School Climate
and Mentoring or Therapy Dog Interventions…………………………..……….93
Discussion………………………………………………………………………………..94
Summary…………………………………………………………………………………97
CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………...………..99
Research Questions……………………………………………………………………....99
Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………..100
Research Question 1……………………………………………………………100
Research Question 2……………………………………………………………103
Research Question 3……………………………………………………………107
Research Question 4……………………………………………………………109
Application of Conclusions……………………………………………………..110
Limitations……………………………………………………………………………...113
Recommendations for Future Research……………………...…………………………115

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Summary…………………………………………………………………………….….117
References………………………………………………………………………………118
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………...………..128
APPENDIX A. IRB Approval………………………………………………………….129
APPENDIX B. Student Perception Survey…………………………………………….130
APPENDIX C. Therapy Dog Letter……………………………………………………132
APPENDIX D. Penns Valley Area School District’s Student School Culture and Climate
Survey…………………………………………………………………………………..134

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List of Tables
Table 1. Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade Office
Discipline Referrals…………………………………………………………………..….55
Table 2. Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School Fifth and Sixth-Grade Threat
and Risk Assessments……………………………………………………………………56
Table 3. Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade Percent
Present in School…………………………………………………………………………57
Table 4. Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School Third through Sixth Grade
School Culture and Climate Survey Results……………….…………………………….58
Table 5. Fiscal Implications…………………………………………………………..…60

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List of Figures
Figure 1. Number of Office Discipline Referrals Per School Year……………………..68
Figure 2. Percentage of Office Discipline Referrals by Intervention…………………...70
Figure 3. Percentage of Unique Individuals with Office Discipline Referrals in Each
Intervention Area………………………………………………………………………...71
Figure 4. Number of Threat Assessments by School Year……………………….……..73
Figure 5. Number of Risk Assessments by School Year………………….………...…..75
Figure 6. Number of Threat and Risk Assessments by Intervention Group…………….76
Figure 7. Percentage of Students Present by School Year………………………………77
Figure 8. Percentage of Students Present in the 2023-2024 School Year by Intervention
Group………….………………………………………………………………………....78
Figure 9. School Culture and Climate Survey Data by School Year…………………....79
Figure 10. School Culture and Climate Survey Data by Intervention Group………...…80
Figure 11. Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Data: Respect Each Other………………..84
Figure 12. Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Data: Treat Me with Respect…………….85
Figure 13. Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Data: Students Feel Safe…………………85
Figure 14. Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Data: Attend School Regularly…………..86
Figure 15. Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Survey: Rash Reactions………………….87
Figure 16. Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Survey: Student Arguments……………...87
Figure 17. Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Survey: Students Look Out for Selves…..88
Figure 18. Mentoring Teacher Perception Data: Respect Each Other…………………..89

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Figure 19. Mentoring Teacher Perception Data: Treat Me with Respect……………….90
Figure 20. Mentoring Teacher Perception Data: Students Feel Safe……………………90
Figure 21. Mentoring Teacher Perception Data: Attend School Regularly……………..91
Figure 22. Mentoring Teacher Perception Survey: Rash Reactions…………………….91
Figure 23. Mentoring Teacher Perception Survey: Students’ Arguments………...….....92
Figure 24. Mentoring Teacher Perception Survey: Students Look Out for Selves……...92

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Abstract
School districts today are facing an increased need for mental health support for students.
This mixed-methods study analyzed the perceptions of the school climate by both
students and teachers in the fifth and sixth grades at Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School, using two trauma-informed interventions: therapy dogs and
mentoring. The purpose of this study was to determine if therapy dogs and mentoring
could positively affect school climate, thereby providing resources for mental health
support. Four research questions guided the study. The first two questions focused on the
relationship between mentoring and therapy dog interventions and student perceptions of
school climate while the third and fourth research questions focused on teacher
perceptions of school climate when therapy dog and mentoring interventions were
implemented in the classroom. Attendance, threat assessment, risk assessment, office
discipline referral, and student survey data were collected to analyze student perceptions
of school climate through qualitative and quantitative measures. A survey of teachers
participating in the mentoring or therapy dog intervention was used to collect qualitative
data on teacher perceptions of school climate. The research study analysis showed a
positive relationship between student and teacher perceptions of school climate when the
trauma-informed interventions of mentoring and therapy dog were implemented.

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CHAPTER I
Introduction
School districts are reporting declining mental health in kindergarten through
twelfth-grade students. In the State of Student Mental Health Survey conducted by
Empowering Communities with Integrated Network Systems (ECINS, 2022), a
staggering 85% of respondents agreed that students are more stressed than in previous
years. Data from the National Center for Educational Statistics (2022) reports that only
fifty-six percent of schools can support the increased needs of students in public schools.
During analysis of this data, one can determine that the number of students who have
experienced trauma in recent years is a rising trend. According to Wolpow et al. (2009),
trauma is the ability to respond healthily to acute stress that compromises the welfare of a
victim. In schools, these results are manifested in increased absenteeism and increased
behaviors that lead to office referrals, threat and risk assessments, and suspensions.
Background
The Penns Valley Area School District (PVASD) is a small, rural public school
district located in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Geographically, it is spread across
approximately two-hundred fifty-five square miles and has a population of 13,180
people. This number has increased slightly over the past two consensus polls. A large
portion of the population is made up of Amish families who do not attend public school.
Despite the growth of the overall population, the number of students attending the school
district is decreasing, with an enrollment of 1,430 students in kindergarten through
twelfth grade. The Penns Valley School District population has a median household
income of $63,105 (“Penns Valley Area School District - U.S. News Education,” 2022).
The student population of Penns Valley Area School District is ninety-seven

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percent white, with one percent black, one percent two or more races, and one percent
Hispanic. Thirty-six percent of students in the district qualify as economically
disadvantaged. Fifteen percent of students across the district receive special education
services. The number of students receiving Special Education support has declined in all
areas over the past three years, excluding autistic support, which has increased slightly.
Four buildings in the Penns Valley Area School District house the student
population. They are separated as follows: two kindergarten through fourth-grade
buildings, one building within a building housing a kindergarten through fourth grade,
and also an intermediate with all fifth and sixth-grade students in the district. The final
building is a seventh through twelfth-grade junior/senior high school. Students are
transported primarily via school buses, with many students averaging hour-long bus
rides. The elementary and intermediate building and the high school building are located
across the street from each other in a relatively centralized part of the district. The other
two elementary buildings are on the district's outer portions of the east and west ends.
Penns Valley Area School District is not immune to increased mental health and
behavior concerns that have occurred nationwide. Therefore, the increase in student
mental health after the pandemic has been identified as a top priority for Penns Valley
Area School District, as indicated in the district’s comprehensive plan (Penns Valley
Area School District, 2022). Data collected from the Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS)
and an increase in threat and risk assessments, office discipline referrals, and absenteeism
are reflected in comprehensive plan action items. For example, according to the PAYS
survey data from 2021 (Pennsylvania Department of Education et al., 2021), 72% of
students in grades six and eight said that they felt depressed or sad on most days.
Similarly, 45% of these students reported that they sometimes think life is not worth it.

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An alarming 21% of Penns Valley Area School District’s sixth and eighth graders
reported seriously considering suicide. The number considering suicide is up by 18%
from pre-pandemic PAYS survey results for Penns Valley Area School District. These
statistics are concerning and still do not fully account for the level of need the district is
attempting to combat. Office discipline and other behavior data specific to Penns Valley
Area School District also show an increasing trend toward at-risk decision-making
among the student population.
Office discipline referrals in the 2022-2023 school year have nearly doubled
compared to the previous two years at the Penns Valley Intermediate School. According
to the district’s student information system, there were 45 office discipline referrals in
2020-2021, 55 office discipline referrals in 2021-2022, and 100 office discipline referrals
in 2022-2023. In general, social media concerns, bullying, and apathy toward classwork
have significantly increased the need for the Positive Behavior Intervention Support team
to increase intervention support for all students. This increase is documented through
Penns Valley Area School District’s quarterly School Climate and Culture Survey (Penns
Valley Area School District, 2022). This issue is coupled with a rise in absenteeism that
has moved beyond doctor-excused absences to an increase in unlawful absences.
Attendance is also an area of concern for Penns Valley Area School District. The
Pennsylvania Department of Education provides a collection of multiple data points to
determine the progress of schools in Pennsylvania. They refer to this information as the
Future Ready Index. Penns Valley Area School District’s Future Ready Index data from
the 2018-2019 school year through the 2022-2023 school year shows an attendance
decrease of 13.75% district-wide and 15.4% at Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2023). These percentages

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follow a statewide trend, exhibiting an 11.6% decrease in attendance. Although the trend
statewide is declining, Penns Valley Area School District has an attendance decrease that
is higher than the statewide average.
Capstone Focus
The combination of these factors supports the need for Penns Valley Area School
District to examine types of trauma-informed interventions that will positively affect
student perceptions of climate and culture at school. For example, a trauma-informed
approach, as defined by the PA Public School Code of 1949, Section 102,
includes a school-wide approach to education and a classroom-based approach to
student learning that recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma and responds
by fully integrating knowledge about trauma into policies, professional learning,
procedures, and practices to recognize the presence and onset of trauma, resisting
the recurrence of trauma and promoting resilience tailored to a school entity’s
culture, climate and demographics and the community as a whole. (P.L.30,
No.14)
The Colorado Department of Education (2022) defined core beliefs that characterize
interventions for trauma-informed care as healthy supporting relationships with caring
adults, learning environments that are safe, engaging, and supportive, explicit instruction,
and practice of social and emotional skills that include problem-solving, self-awareness,
self-regulation, and relationship skills.
Over the years, the impacts of the mental health crises that public schools face
have become more prevalent. Efforts have been made at Penns Valley Area School
District to work alongside outside agencies, district social workers and counselors, and
teachers to ensure that all possible supports are in place. However, continually pursuing

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for better support for students in Penns Valley Area School District is a priority. To that
end, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of trauma-informed, school-wide
interventions on behavior, threat and risk assessments, school attendance, and
perceptions of school climate by students at Penns Valley Intermediate School during the
2023-2024 school year. The research questions for this study are as follows:
Research Questions
1. What is the relationship between students’ perceptions of school climate and the
presence of a class-wide therapy dog as measured by student behavioral office
referrals, Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat and Risk Assessments,
school attendance, and the Penns Valley Area School District School Culture
Survey during the 2023-2024 school year?
2. What is the relationship between students’ perceptions of school climate and the
use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring program as measured by behavior,
Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat and Risk Assessments, school
attendance, and Penns Valley Area School District School Culture and Climate
survey during the 2023-2024 school year?
3. What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school climate and the
use of a class-wide therapy dog as measured by a teacher perception survey?
4. What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school climate and the
use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring program as measured by a teacher
perception survey?

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Expected Outcomes
Penns Valley Elementary/Intermediate School has employed both therapy dog
and mentoring programs in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years. While there has
been positive feedback for both, the results of this research are intended to learn the
effect of each as a form of intervention on behavior referrals, attendance, and school
climate at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School. Furthermore, this research
will help determine if further trauma-informed school-based interventions would
decrease the number of students in need of mental health or behavioral support and
increase student perceptions of school. The study results will help support future
decision-making at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School regarding
appropriate programs and interventions to support school-wide cultural and behavioral
improvement. This could potentially help streamline programming and provide evidence
for the implementation of one or both programs.
Financial Implications
The financial implications associated with implementing this study are very
small. The therapy dog handler volunteers her time and that of the therapy dog. As
insurance for the therapy dog is obtained by its owner, this also is not an expense to the
district. The mentoring program is based on a free resource, and the training and support
are provided for free through the platform. The only monetary cost associated with the
study will be for paper used to print pre-existing data from district platforms. This will be
done to allow the researcher to better compare various forms of data for each group.
Although monetary costs for this study are minimal, there will be indirect costs.
The first of these is time. In order to effectively implement both the mentoring and
therapy dog programs, there will need to be a twenty-minute period of time built into

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classroom schedules on a bi-weekly basis. It will be necessary for the researcher to
schedule consistent times with the therapy dog owner. Mentors will also need to build
their schedules around the assigned mentoring time. There will need to be flexibility
from all involved individuals as unexpected occurrences such as school closures may
cause the need for a change in scheduling.
Supplies needed for the surveys taken by participants and the data to be retrieved
by the researcher are simply the district-supplied laptop and charging cord. There will
also need to be access to wireless internet, Google Forms, and Google Sheets. The
researcher will use an existing, lockable filing cabinet to store printed data throughout the
study and for two years following its conclusion.
Summary
The study of mentoring and therapy dog interventions at Penns Valley Area
School District employs minimal costs at the current time, both monetarily and also
indirectly. The results of the research could positively impact school culture and student
behavior by proving the effectiveness of two separate intervention programs that can be
used at a school-wide level. This research study is a low-risk opportunity to provide
valuable information to Penns Valley Area School District in an area where research is
limited. The next chapter will focus on existing research, a review of related literature,
and implications for practice.

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CHAPTER II
Literature Review
School districts are reporting that the mental health of students in grades
kindergarten through twelve is declining. The State of Student Mental Health Survey,
conducted by Empowering Communities with Integrated Network Systems (ECINS) in
2022, 85% of respondents believe students are more stressed than in previous years. Data
from the National Center for Educational Statistics (2022) shows that only 56% of
schools are equipped to support the increased needs of students in public schools.
The analysis of this data reveals a growing trend in the number of students
experiencing trauma in recent years. As noted by Wolpow et al. (2009), trauma impairs
the ability to respond healthily to acute stress, thus compromising the welfare of the
affected individuals. In schools, this trauma is evident through increased absenteeism and
behaviors that lead to office referrals, suspensions, and threat and risk assessments.
Background of Penns Valley Area School District
This Capstone project will use data from the Penns Valley Area School District
(PVASD), a small, rural public school district in Centre County, Pennsylvania. PVASD
spans approximately two-hundred fifty-five square miles and serves a population of
13,180 people, a slight increase from the last two census polls. A significant portion of
this population consists of Amish families who do not attend public school. Despite the
overall population growth, student enrollment in the district has been declining, currently
at 1,430 students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The median household
income in the district is $63,105 (“Penns Valley Area School District - U.S. News
Education,” 2022).

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The student population in PVASD is ninety-seven percent white, one percent
black, one percent two or more races, and one percent Hispanic. Thirty-six percent of the
students are economically disadvantaged, and fifteen percent receive special education
services. Over the past three years, the number of students receiving special education
support has declined in all areas except for autistic support, which has seen a slight
increase.
The district has four buildings housing students: two buildings for kindergarten
through fourth grade, one building that includes kindergarten through fourth grade and an
intermediate section for all fifth and sixth graders, and a final building for seventh
through twelfth grades. Students are mainly transported by school buses, with many
facing hour-long rides. The elementary and intermediate buildings are located near each
other in a central part of the district, while the two other elementary buildings are on the
east and west ends of the district.
State of Mental Health and Behavior at Penns Valley Area School District
The Penns Valley Area School District is not exempt from the rising mental
health and behavior concerns seen nationwide. Addressing the increase in student mental
health issues post-pandemic has been identified as a top priority in the district’s
comprehensive plan (Penns Valley Area School District, 2022). Data from the
Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) and the rise in threat and risk assessments, office
discipline referrals, and absenteeism are reflected in the comprehensive plan’s action
items. For example, the 2021 PAYS survey data (Pennsylvania Department of Education
et al., 2021) revealed that 72% of students in grades six and eight felt depressed or sad on
most days, 45% sometimes thought life was not worth it, and an alarming 21% had
seriously considered suicide. The number of students considering suicide increased by

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10

18% compared to pre-pandemic survey results for the district. These statistics are
concerning and do not fully capture the level of need the district is addressing. Data from
the district’s office discipline and other behavior metrics also indicate an increasing trend
in at-risk decision-making among students.
Office discipline referrals nearly doubled in the 2022-2023 school year at Penns
Valley Intermediate School compared to the previous two years. The district’s student
information system recorded 45 office discipline referrals in 2020-2021, 55 in 20212022, and 100 in 2022-2023. Issues such as social media concerns, bullying, and apathy
toward classwork have significantly increased the need for the Positive Behavior
Intervention Support team to provide more intervention support for all students. This
increase is documented in the district’s quarterly School Climate and Culture Survey
(Penns Valley Area School District, 2022). Additionally, absenteeism has increased, with
an increase in unlawful absences beyond doctor-excused absences.
Attendance is another area of concern for the district. The Pennsylvania
Department of Education’s Future Ready Index, which tracks school progress, shows that
from the 2018-2019 school year through the 2022-2023 school year, the district’s
attendance decreased by 13.75% district-wide and 15.4% at Penns Valley Elementary
and Intermediate School (Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2023). These declines
exceed the statewide trend of an 11.6% decrease in attendance.
These factors highlight the need for Penns Valley Area School District to explore
trauma-informed interventions that positively impact student perceptions of school
climate and culture. A trauma-informed approach, as defined by the PA Public School
Code of 1949 (1949/2019),

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11

involves a school-wide and classroom-based approach to education that
recognizes the signs and symptoms of trauma. This approach integrates
knowledge about trauma into policies, professional learning, procedures, and
practices to recognize and address trauma, resist its recurrence, and promote
resilience tailored to the school’s culture, climate, demographics, and community
as a whole (§ 102).
The Colorado Department of Education (2022) outlines core beliefs for traumainformed care interventions, including healthy, supportive relationships with caring
adults, safe and engaging learning environments, and explicit instruction and practice of
social and emotional skills such as problem-solving, self-awareness, self-regulation, and
relationship skills.
Perceptions of School Climate at Penns Valley Area School District
The upward trend of behavior and mental health needs relates to an increased
trend of negative student perceptions of school culture and climate, according to Penns
Valley Area School District’s School Climate and Culture (Penns Valley Area School
District, 2022) and behavior referral data. Further research on trauma-informed
intervention strategies and their effect on the mental health of students is needed to
determine how best to thwart this current crisis. Even with current interventions, mental
health concerns and behavior referrals continue to rise. This research will help determine
if further trauma-informed school-based interventions would decrease the number of
students in need of mental health or behavioral support and increase student perception of
school. For instance, suppose Penns Valley Area School District does not take steps to
change the current trends in these areas. In this case, it will be difficult to assess student

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academic gaps as the mental health, behavior, and school perception barriers will
contribute to students' lack of growth.
It is widely accepted in education that students can only learn once all their needs
are met. This theory's history is predominantly recognized through Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs (Maslow, 1943). Maslow’s theory establishes that individuals need to have
specific needs met before learning occurs. While multiple other studies have followed,
the results overwhelmingly come back to an innate feeling of safety and security for
students to succeed and grow with learning. Traditional consequences for behavior
incidents and absenteeism issues have been punitive in schools. Given the increase in
students exhibiting trauma-based behaviors, schools have begun to look toward traumainformed approaches to managing student behavior.
In an investigation of trauma-informed approaches in elementary education, Wall
(2021) suggests that poor self-esteem and shame are common emotional impacts of
students with trauma. Furthermore, students who are dealing with trauma tend to have a
difficult time naming how they are feeling, using words to describe emotions, and using
good judgment. Given this information, there is a need to consider a shift in focus on
strategies to support students with trauma backgrounds. According to Thomas et al.
(2019), “Using a trauma lens when handling difficulties with students means shifting the
question from “What is wrong with you?” to “What is happening with you?” (p.428). As
it is not always known which students have histories of trauma or who might be dealing
with unknown situations in the present, the literature goes on to state that a whole school
environment in which all individuals are treated with compassion and care is necessary.
The idea of treating all with compassion and care is inclusive of both staff and students.

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PVASD’s most recent district comprehensive plan (Penns Valley Area School
District, 2022) responded to this need with a multifaceted support approach. From mental
health personnel resources to an updated social-emotional curriculum and building
projects, mental health needs are interwoven into all district-wide planning.
Therapy Dog Interventions in the Educational Setting
One trauma-informed intervention that has been gaining popularity in schools
nationwide is the presence of therapy dogs in classrooms. This intervention requires a
handler to always be present with the therapy dog. The handler is typically the owner of
the dog. However, even if not the owner, the handler has completed the certification
process with the dog, and it is a requirement for the handler to be with the therapy dog at
all times. Studies show various implementation strategies for therapies involving trained
therapy dogs. Although interventions involving therapy animals are gaining popularity,
there is not an extensive base of research to support their effectiveness.
Friesen (2009) explored animal-assisted programs with children by reviewing
literature related to Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT). Her research examined the effects
of students' physiological, emotional, and social reactions when interacting with animals
in a therapy setting. She concluded that when therapy dogs are present with children,
they feel like they are in a non-judgmental environment. Furthermore, although the
animals cannot necessarily comprehend what the children say, the students feel
understood. Friesen’s analysis is further supported by Bradley (2013), who studied the
effects of a therapy dog on student learning. The research review concluded that therapy
dogs may be valuable tools for teachers, counselors, and caregivers in many settings.
They also explored the importance of forming meaningful relationships and the

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propensity for this to occur with the addition of a therapy dog in the learning
environment.
A minimal amount of research on therapy animals, including therapy dogs, has
been conducted across various settings and for multiple purposes. For instance, research
explored the effects of therapy animals on cognitive and language development (Melson,
2003). As the idea of therapy animals gains ground, therapy dogs are beginning to be
commonly seen in school settings to have students read to them, be available in
unstructured settings such as recess, and be present during student-centered academic
activities. Their presence is significant considering the numerous studies that report
declining student achievements in reading, reading comprehension, and math since the
COVID-19 shutdown (Contini et al., 2022).
Identified Need for Therapy Dog Interventions
Learning loss is a considerable concern in education today. However, mental
health concerns in children and adolescents were already an issue of rising concern. The
staggering number of adolescent suicide attempts in 2016 was 53,000 deaths, which was
the third leading cause of adolescent deaths in that year (Shah et al., 2020). This number
is still lower than in 2016. However, it has continued to increase in the post-pandemic
United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control (Curtin & Hedegaard, 2021),
“provisional suicide counts in 2021 totaled 47,646, 4% higher than in 2020 (45,979)” (p.
2). Although slightly lower than the 2016 statistic, it now accounts for the second leading
cause of death in adolescents and is on the rise (Pennsylvania Department of Education,
2023).
Prevention and intervention are crucial to bringing this number back into decline.
The state of mental health in schools is especially alarming, given the knowledge of what

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trauma and mental health stress can do to students’ capability to learn. Students’
reactions to harmful or threatening situations are physiological. They will fight, flight, or
freeze without stopping to rationalize or build a plan. For instance, their biological alarm
system elicits behaviors not conducive to stable and long-term learning. When feeling
threatened, the brain prioritizes survival over learning (Imad, 2022).
Furthermore, mental health needs are showing prevalence in schools today
through smaller and sometimes more subtle factors. Parallels can begin to be formed in
reviews of data surrounding behavior, attendance, and the perception of school culture.
Griffin (2020) makes the comparison between COVID-19 being fatal to a small
percentage but making many more ill due to the pandemic, resulting in post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) for a small percentage but creating short-term mental health
effects for many. It stands to reason that given the effect of the recent COVID-19
pandemic, children will experience ongoing trauma and grief and will need a tramainformed intervention approach to support this changed mental state.
At Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School (PVEI), visits with the
therapy dog in past years have been used to reward students for positive behavior and for
academic reading support. While teachers were primarily responsible for signing up
students for sessions, students typically chose to visit the therapy dog when given that
option over other reading and reward options. Although not used in the same structure or
for the same purpose of this research, students in the school were motivated by a visit
with the therapy dog. As mental health and trauma-informed needs are on the rise at
Penns Valley Area School District, there is a need for the therapy dog intervention to
move toward a whole-class, social-emotional intervention opportunity.

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Effects of Therapy Dog Programs on Attendance
Truancy issues in public school systems have been concerning for many years but
have been amplified recently. Although there is controversy over what constitutes
truancy, for the purposes of this study, the therapy dog intervention specifically targets an
overall look at the number of absences by homeroom and grade level. Research suggests
that therapy dogs in classroom settings will encourage improved social interaction
between students and their peers and adults (Friesen, 2009). School culture is an
identified factor for chronic truancy among students (Maynard et al., 2012).
Understanding the role of school culture in raising student attendance, among other
educational benefits, leads educators to look for new and creative ways to build this
culture.
Teachers in today’s society are tasked with academic growth through engaging
teaching strategies, which is by itself challenging. Now in addition to academic
strategies, “there is a need for a bridge between teachers’ instructional strategies and the
services provided by school counselors to facilitate learning” (Bradley et al., 2013, p. 6).
School counselors play an integral role in teaching social-emotional skills as well as
creating safe spaces for students struggling with trauma.
School counselors alone are no longer enough to support the ever-growing needs
of students in schools. While teachers attempt to incorporate trauma-informed strategies
into classroom practices, intervention strategies that augment the work of teachers and
school counselors on this front are needed. Research exists to reinforce the idea that not
only are therapy dogs able to support student emotional well-being as counselors have
typically done in the past, but they can do so in a way that is not possible through
interaction with humans alone (Friesen, 2009). Baird (2023) states, “Therapy dogs

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increase students’ enthusiasm, confidence, and motivation to attend school and engage in
activities, interactions, and challenges that can improve their school wellbeing” (p. 6).
Given this information, it is possible to hypothesize that students will have a higher
attendance rate if their school well-being is improved. Therefore, positive effects should
occur if therapy dog programs are implemented as an intervention strategy. Given the
declining rate of attendance at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School, if
positive effects are shown through research, therapy dog interventions should be
considered as a more widespread intervention program across the entire school district.
Effects of Therapy Dog Programs on Behavior
Many studies (Gómez-Calcerrada et al., 2021; Talaslampi et al., 2019) have
examined the effects of therapy dogs in residential settings for treatment purposes. The
importance of touch with residents and therapy dogs has been found to connect directly
to their comfort and well-being (Orr et al., 2023). Likewise, in the educational setting,
therapy dog interactions have been found to lower verbal, emotional, and behavioral
stress (Friesen, 2009). The implications are heavy considering the rising trend of
emotional and behavioral needs in students in school settings. The role of education in
people’s lives is essential to their success as contributing members of the community.
Not only does education increase chances for a higher socioeconomic status, but it can
also positively affect an individual's well-being. Alternatively, a low level of education
can be associated with issues for individuals in adulthood, including social exclusion,
prolonged unemployment, and a lack of vocational skills (Talaslampi et al., 2019).
While mitigating factors exist in the circumstances surrounding a low level of
education, which include but are not limited to low socioeconomic status, low level of
parental education, and maltreatment, a common outcome found is a behavioral effect for

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at-risk students in the school setting (Huffman et al., 2000). It has also been found that
males are more at risk for being less well-educated than females in the general population
(Talaslampi et al., 2019). Although not necessarily caused by school culture or
antecedents in the school setting, these behaviors lead to a loss of educational time and
focus and, therefore, have the effect of low education for students.
For students to learn, they must be actively engaged in school. Students
experiencing trauma, which leads to behavioral issues, will have difficulty accessing
educational opportunities. This difficulty is in part because students who are traumaimpacted struggle to deal with emotions, which can lead to difficulty expressing their
emotions, dealing with difficult situations, and using good judgment (Wall, 2021). The
use of interventions to support students with trauma backgrounds and potential
behavioral problems is on the rise in schools today. According to Maynard et al. (2019),
there has been a significant and rapid increase in the number of schools utilizing traumainformed practices, which is likely caused by the large number of federal, state, and local
initiatives related to trauma-informed care.
Within intervention frameworks, many rely on calming and relaxation strategies.
These strategies are supported by adults building safe and supportive relationships in
school (Wall, 2021). Therefore, therapy dogs should have an effect that positively factors
into the needs of students at risk for behavior based on trauma or other factors. Research
shows that therapy dogs have increased overall emotional stability in elementary students
(Friesen, 2009). Although the classroom teacher still needs to explicitly teach socialemotional skills and contribute to a positive school environment, introducing a therapy
dog removes the power relationship between a teacher and a child. According to Friesen
(2009), “the power balance seems to shift by incorporating the ‘non-judgmental’ therapy

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dog and what may be perceived by the child as a neutral or ‘highly likable’ adult into the
intervention” (p. 265).
Further research indicates that not only is this relationship stabilized by a therapy
dog, but the therapy dogs also allow students to experience positive moods while giving
them comfort and needed support. These positive moods and feelings of support reduce
the anxiety and stress many students feel (Baird, 2023). Given the propensity between
increased student anxiety and stress and behavior issues in school, the effect of the
therapy dog on these moods has shown positive improvements in behaviors overall
(Beck, 2015). Findings also suggest that students are more social with a therapy dog,
leading to decreased behavioral problems and increased emotional well-being when the
therapy dog is present (Bradley et al., 2013). Grové et al. (2021) found that when therapy
dog programs are in place, students benefit from forming a relationship with the dog, and
this helps them connect more to the school community and have a greater sense of
belonging at school.
Effects of Therapy Dog Programs on School Culture
To understand the effect of therapy dogs on school culture, one must be aware
that the school culture of a building can be ever-changing. It is not a static entity; instead,
school culture is cyclical in its ever-changing nature. Culture is highly dependent on staff
interactions with students and each other and flexible changes to the environment based
on reflections of life experiences and the surrounding environment (Hinde, 2005). It can
be deduced that when interactions change, positively or negatively, there is a direct effect
on the climate and culture of a building. These interactions can depend on personal
circumstances, relationship changes, and building dynamics. Considering the need for a

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positive school culture, schools should empower students by encouraging them to bring
their experiences and voices to the classroom (Imad, 2022).
Some findings suggest the potential for therapy dogs to inform teachers of
students' needs and current states of mind (Bradley et al., 2013). Knowing how quickly a
culture can change and how beneficial a therapy dog can be for reading and
understanding student needs, one can hypothesize that a therapy dog can positively affect
the climate and culture of a classroom or school. Brelsford et al. (2017) found through a
survey of teachers that there were increases in attention, motivation, mood, well-being,
social-emotional development, and cognitive development when therapy dogs were part
of the classroom environment. Therapy dogs are uniquely positioned to get close to a
student, whether they are experiencing feelings of joy or distress. Because therapy dogs
are devoted to their students and trained to be in tune with their emotions, they can be
responsive and attuned to needs, allowing for continued joy or support when needed
emotionally (Sanford, 2014). This quick intervention can support a change in a student's
mental or behavioral state before an escalation occurs, allowing the school's climate to
remain positive by utilizing a therapy dog.
Therapy Dogs and Autism Spectrum Disorder
Additional studies focus on the effects of a therapy dog on students with Autism
Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who are in a separate classroom compared with those in the
regular education classroom. It was reported that students with ASD had more behaviors
that utilized a social approach and less social withdrawal. In contrast, according to their
teachers, students in the regular classroom had more significant increases in positive
social interactions (Brelsford et al., 2017). The PVEI classrooms that participated in this
study included students with ASD, and therefore, the effects of therapy animals on

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students with ASD are essential to note. The classroom and school culture are directly
related to peer-to-peer and adult-to-student relationships. The evidence to support
increased social interactions for both populations of students is important when
determining the effectiveness of therapy dogs on school culture.
Therapy Dogs and Junior High Students
A study specific to junior high students has provided further insight into the effect
of therapy dogs on school climate. The study found that the students who most frequently
visited the therapy dogs did not perceive that they fit in with the average crowd of
students. The students struggled with social interactions and friendships and often
identified home factors that were causing emotional distress. The study (Weinbaum et al.,
2021) further deduced that therapy dogs could mediate change for many emotional issues
in students’ daily lives. Individual factors that students deal with play a significant role in
the perception of school culture. The ability to support individuals through emotional
issues and social struggles has the potential to increase the overall school culture.
According to Weinbaum et al. (2021), junior high students involved in the therapy dog
study
recognized a sense of collective wellness. Interestingly, it was recognized that the
dogs could meet the needs of all students and that these needs were unique,
ranging from simply creating a positive model of acceptance to being a helper for
students to learn basic life skills. (p. 12)
This varied level of support emphasizes the belief that individual improvements for
students are evident, and therapy dogs create positive social skill habits in students that
contribute to the overall positive school culture.

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Mentoring Programs for At-risk Youth in the Educational Setting
As an alternative to the therapy dog intervention, there is support in the literature
for mentoring programs for students as trauma-informed interventions. A review of
trauma-informed approaches by Wall (2021) states five core components necessary for
their success: “safe and supportive relationships, structure and stability, shared agency,
self-awareness and self-regulation, and social-emotional learning and skill building” (p.
126). The text continues to explain the positive impact of empowering students to share
opinions, negotiate, and allow their voices to be part of the discussion process. This
thought process ties directly to the concept of mentoring in schools. Mentoring is
structured to allow a student and adult to form a relationship in which the student is
comfortable sharing, asking for advice, and discussing goals (whether personal or
academic). Multiple researchers studying trauma-based practices have focused systems
and professional development on developing safe and trusting relationships between
adults and students. While various interventions and research studies have provided steps
to create this relationship, a common theme among them is having an intentional and
structured approach as there is in a mentoring program.
For the purposes of the research study to be conducted at Penns Valley Area
School District, students will be placed with mentors trained in a mentoring process and
will have a step-by-step guide for implementing a mentor session. Questions and prompts
will be supplied for mentors, and mentees will be able to answer questions and make
notes about their needs during the mentoring session before the session begins. Research
suggests that for the implementation of trauma-informed practices to be successful, not
only must staff buy into the concept, but there must also be ongoing professional

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development in the practice, as well as the flexibility to adjust practices to meet the needs
of students or entities (Kimes, 2019).
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School has implemented a mentoring
program for several years in grades five and six. Adult mentors follow scripted questions
during individual mentoring sessions to build relationships with students. The mentors
who fill this position are staff members trained in the Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School Mentoring program and who work regularly with the students
outside of mentoring. Beyond relationship-building dialogue, the chosen mentors check
student academic progress, hear social concerns, and set weekly goals between mentoring
sessions. Direct instruction on social-emotional skills, such as problem-solving, can help
improve students' social awareness and competency (Wall, 2021). The problem-solving
and goal-setting process during mentoring can help students build on individual socialemotional needs and goals. Goal-setting for social-emotional needs is extremely
important given the increase in mental health concerns noted nationwide and paralleled
by those prefaced regarding Penns Valley Area School District.
Effects of Mentoring Programs on Attendance
Mentoring has proven to benefit students. One of these benefits is a decrease in
truancy for students affected by trauma. Rivers (2010) identifies multiple factors that
work cyclically to improve school attendance. Among other factors, having a contact
person at school and becoming involved in a mentorship relationship with that person is
recommended. This person will not only keep track of absences and follow through with
the student when they miss school but also help the student form a connection that
motivates them to attend school each day. For students at risk for truancy issues, forming

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positive relationships at school can be the difference between staying home and getting to
campus each day.
While research has supported mentoring as having positive effects on students, it
must be noted that it can be time-consuming and requires the support of multiple staff
members to succeed. A positive finding that supports mentoring as an actionable
intervention comes from Maynard (2012), who suggests that those who do not have
significant resources or the time required to develop complex, collaborative programs
can still help improve the attendance of truant students. As the district is considering
implementing interventions to support students’ attendance in school effectively, it is
essential to note that mentoring is a reasonably simple intervention that can have
clinically significant positive results. Guryan et al. (2020) found in a study on a
mentoring program that attendance improved at all grade levels, Kindergarten through
twelfth grade. However, the study showed the most significant increases in attendance at
the middle-school age level.
Effects of Mentoring Programs on Behavior
Behavior referrals and classroom behavior incidents have increased at Penns
Valley Elementary and Intermediate School. Although the data is inconsistent during the
2019-2021 school years because of school shutdowns and illnesses, the data shows a
consistent incline before and since those years. This increase is coupled with an increase
in enrollments and withdrawals after the start of the school year. Data from Penns Valley
School District’s Student Information System shows that district-wide enrollments and
withdrawals increased from twenty-eight during the 2021-2022 school year to forty-one
during the 2022-2023 school year. During that timeframe, reported discipline incidences
rose from 214 in the 2021-2022 school year to 251 in the 2022-2023 school year.

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Twenty-three student enrollments or withdrawals have occurred in the first three months
of the 2023-2024 school year. Thus far, there have been 142 discipline incidents cited at
Penns Valley Area School District in the 2023-2024 school year. Suppose the remainder
of the 2023-2024 school year follows a consistent pattern of increases. In that case, this
year will yield the most withdrawals, enrollments, and behavior incidences of the past
three years.
A clear trend at Penns Valley Area School District is increased transience and
behavior incidences. Research indicates that mentoring positively affects students from
at-risk populations and those who are transient (Vannest et al., 2008). Given the learning
loss and academic gaps evaluated through comprehensive planning, which have been a
significant concern in the last several years, interventions must be implemented (Penns
Valley Area School District, 2022). However, these interventions should consider a daily
schedule with little room for intensive interventions because of increased academic
support to close the gaps.
Trauma-informed interventions support positive relationships between students
and adults. This stems from the fact that many trauma-impacted students have strained
familial relationships (Wall, 2021). Given this information, students must build
supportive adult and peer-to-peer relationships for the mentoring relationship to succeed.
Adults in the mentoring role must complete training to practice scenarios that may occur
during mentoring and appropriate responses. They also are given scripts to support
relationship building. The mentoring process allows students to discuss peer issues and
concerns, from bullying to friendship issues. They can talk with trusted adults in a safe
space and are guided to the next steps for handling peer-to-peer relationship concerns.
For students who do not have solid familial relationships, the mentoring program is a

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pathway to an open and trusting environment. Having a safe space and trusting
environment will allow students to learn conflict resolution, social competence, and
expand their understanding and ability to form positive friendships with peers (Wall,
2021).
Mentoring and Bullying
Bullying, the act of repeatedly harassing, intimidating, or harming a student, is
and has been a hot topic in education for years. While there is evidence that it happens at
the elementary level, middle school reports of bullying are the highest, with 28% percent
of middle schools reporting bullying that occurs daily or at least once per week, followed
by high schools with 16% (Centers for Disease Control, 2023). To decrease behavioral
issues in middle-level students, one must take into account the intensity with which
bullying occurs. The approach to limiting bullying behaviors is multifaceted and can
incorporate mentoring support. According to a study by Thompson and Smith (2011),
“adult modeling of positive relationships/communication was quite widely used and rated
as highly effective” (p. 20). In the study, positive relationships increased through a
school-wide mentoring program. Multiple studies have shown that school mentorship
programs provide the support students need to develop social skills, regulate emotions,
and problem-solve situations (Owora et al., 2018). Trauma-based interventions, such as
mentoring, can also be used to decrease behaviors related to bullying.
Mentoring and Threat and Risk Assessments
Aside from bullying concerns, daily behaviors are on the rise at PVEI, leading to
increased threat assessments completed by school staff since the implementation of the
threat assessment process in the 2021-2022 school year. Threat assessment protocols
became required for all school districts via the Pennsylvania Department of Education

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that same year. This procedure is targeted at screening any threat made by a student and
completing a subsequent assessment if warranted by the screener. Although there was an
initial overrepresentation of data as teachers and administrators learned the
appropriateness of referrals for threat assessments, the data soon steadied and, since then,
has been on a slow incline.
The initial overrepresentation is likely due to insufficient training on the process
for all staff or the behaviors that warrant a screening. Once the initial referrals were
made, administrators realized the need for further training. Since then, the referrals are a
more accurate representation of student needs. Risk assessments, the counterpart of threat
assessments that determine if students are a threat to themselves, have also had a steady
incline from the process's inception in the same year. This incline correlates with the
increase in mental health services that have been requested in the district. Based on the
increase in need, Penns Valley Area School District has added an outside social work
contractor to support students. The Board of Directors has also voted to increase the
number of school counselors at the elementary and intermediate levels.
Although multiple studies have been conducted researching the effectiveness of
interventions to prevent violent behavior, results are inconclusive across the literature
(Flay et al., 2004; Jager et al., 2009; Wilson et al., 2003). However, Elliott (2023) found
that programs that focused on individual goals such as problem-solving skills, decisionmaking, and self-control significantly impacted preventing violent behavior. The research
is promising for schools that have the capabilities to implement a mentoring program that
could support students’ individual goals in the areas mentioned above.
Risk assessment data has also shown a steady incline over the past several years.
There is mounting research being conducted on the mental health effects of the COVID-

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19 of 2020 pandemic. Students, especially adolescents, are not immune to mental health
concerns. Data shows that the concerns are founded, yet no overwhelming bank of
resources is available for educators to deal with these mental health concerns in the
school setting (Liang et al., 2020). However, there is evidence to support that targeted
interventions focusing on self-criticism have contributed to a decline in non-suicidal selfinjurious behaviors (Ramsey, 2019).
Data from risk assessments conducted at Penns Valley Area School District
shows that a majority of founded risk assessments are in response to reports of selfinjurious behaviors as opposed to suicidal ideations (Penns Valley Area School District,
2024). While outside agencies and mental health supports need to be implemented
immediately for all students whose results on risk assessments are a founded risk,
planning for ongoing school-based interventions is also crucial. Mentoring is a schoolbased intervention that can provide preventative support and ensure that an adult
regularly intervenes with students who are at risk for following through on self-injurious
behaviors.
Effects of Mentoring Programs on School Culture
Students' perception of school culture has been measured at PVASD every
quarter for the past ten years through a Penns Valley Area School District self-created
survey. Teachers and parents take an annual district-created survey tailored to their role
in the district. The results of the school culture surveys are dissected by the
administration, teachers, School Directors, and the community semi-annually for student
data and annually for teacher, staff, and parent data. Growth is measured through
percentage increases, and district goals are established based on progress. The perception
of school culture by all stakeholders is a priority to the school district, so much so that a

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considerable amount of time is spent each year determining how to use collected data to
support the growth of a positive school culture. The importance of the analytical view of
PVASD's data is even more apparent when considering that culture can be a selfrepeating process.
Peer Relationships and School Culture
Hinde (2005) stated that “culture is shaped by the interactions of the personnel,
and the actions of the personnel become directed by culture” (para. 5). The implications
are that the personnel have control over a cultural climate that evades all aspects of the
educational setting, including student perception. It can be found that positive
relationships among adults and relationship-building opportunities lead to improved
culture (Vreeman & Carroll, 2007). This is true for student perceptions of school culture
and employee perceptions of their work environment and readiness to align with
organizational goals. This phenomenon is supported by an understanding that the
relationship between supervisor and peer, as well as peer to peer, can transform
knowledge from individual to individual as well as groups and the organization (Shah et
al., 2020). All these factors occur through forming positive peer relationships (Shah et
al., 2020).
Trauma Experiences and School Culture
Transference of the thought process that relationship-building creates a positive
workplace culture to student-to-adult relationships is the precipice for aligning mentoring
programs with creating a positive school culture. However, the need for these
relationships is exacerbated by the number of students who have traumatic experiences in
the classroom setting. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, students with mental
health and trauma experiences were present in schools. However, post-COVID-19

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pandemic, the number of students who have experienced trauma and those dealing with
mental health has increased exponentially. The implications are the same, whether this is
because of increased trauma or awareness. School districts, specifically educators, need
tools to help students deal with their experiences. This task can be difficult as students
who have trauma in their backgrounds have difficulty trusting adults, feeling safe, or
feeling connected at school (Rossen, 2013).
The condition of trust is imperative to growing relationships and building a
positive culture. As stated by Jerald (2006), to create and maintain a strong culture, staff
and students must be able to develop relationships that work together and understand the
school's goal. The need to cultivate trusting relationships is further applicable to students
with trauma experiences by Wall (2021), who emphasized the need to address socialemotional instruction and address issues with compassion and promptly, which allows
traumatized students to learn risk-taking in learning and building relationships.
Mentoring is a process through which staff and students enter a relationship that
allows for structured but individualized relationship-building sessions. Adults can help
build an aligned vision for the student’s education during structured mentor sessions.
They also can build trust by establishing that they will follow through with any issues or
concerns the student raises during the mentoring session. Although mentoring programs
display variance depending on the adopted structure and fidelity of implementation, the
components exist in various mentoring programs to support the social-emotional and
trust-building relationships necessary for students with trauma to build the relationships
necessary for contributing to a positive school culture and have healthy perceptions that
provide evidence that a positive culture is in place and growing.

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Mediating Factors
Despite literature supporting the effectiveness of trauma-informed interventions
in the school setting, mitigating factors can influence the effectiveness of practices. As in
all things education, one must understand there is no one-size-fits-all approach to support
students. While studies have shown a positive correlation between the trauma-informed
practices of mentoring and therapy dogs, as reviewed through the literature, not all
students have successfully applied these approaches (Beck, 2015; Brelsford et al., 2017;
Miranda-Díaz et al., 2020). The onus of the educators involved and their willingness to
embrace trauma-based interventions must also be factored into the success of
interventions. There are many contributing factors to teacher efficacy, which include, but
are not limited to, professional development, awareness of trauma concerns, and
resources and accessibility to needed materials and time for successful programming.
Factors Limiting the Effectiveness of Therapy Dog Interventions
Multiple research studies (Gómez-Calcerrada et al., 2021; Grové et al., 2021;
Melson, 2003) support the implementation of therapy dogs for academic, behavioral,
social-emotional, and physical growth. Despite positive results across studies, some
concerns accompany the implementation of a therapy dog in a school setting. While all
dogs who have gone through a certification program as therapy dogs must have regular
check-ups with a veterinarian and also proof of updated vaccinations, there are sanitation
(defecation, urination, vomiting) concerns as well as consideration for the health and
safety of students when considering the implementation of a therapy dog (Beck, 2015).
Therapy Dogs and Allergy Concerns
Allergies to animals also cause concern for schools planning to implement
therapy dog interventions. Schools participating in therapy dog interventions must take

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appropriate precautions to ensure that all families are aware of the dog's presence and
have the opportunity to share allergy concerns. Once allergies are known, schools must
make arrangements to avoid putting students in harm's way based on dog allergies. While
time-consuming and, at times, a logistical challenge, allergy concerns can be managed
given an organized approach to scheduling therapy dog interventions. For instance,
portions of the school can have devoted sites for the therapy dog to meet with students.
Identified spaces would allow for the separation of any students with allergies. There
should also be hand-washing protocols for students who come in contact with the therapy
dog.
Therapy Dogs and School Safety Concerns
Another consideration for allowing therapy animals into a classroom is student
safety. The Alliance of Therapy Dogs, the certification program that was used by the
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School’s therapy dog, stated that
A certified therapy dog must be friendly, patient, confident, gentle, and at ease in
all situations. Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and be content to be
petted, cuddled, and handled, sometimes clumsily, by unfamiliar people and to
enjoy that contact. (Alliance of Therapy Dogs, 2022)
The certification program verifies that its therapy dogs are at ease in multiple
situations by training them in locations with high noise, chaos, and people. They also
choose quieter locations that require one-to-one interaction with children and adults. The
emphasis on the demeanor of a therapy dog is to ensure that students and handlers do not
get into situations that could lead to a dog bite. The effectiveness of a therapy dog
intervention depends on the dog's training, temperament, and behavior. If a dog is not
well-trained or exhibits unpredictable behavior, it may cause distress rather than provide

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comfort. The school must first ensure safety before considering a therapy dog
intervention. The school district needs to follow a strict protocol before implementing a
therapy dog program that addresses all safety measures, including allergies, the
temperament of the animal, and logistical considerations in the school building.
Alternatively, many argue against the use of therapy dogs in the school setting
because of the well-being of the dog rather than the students. Proper protocols need to be
put into place when involving animals in trauma-based interventions. It is essential to
ensure that dogs have water and a safe environment to take a break between sessions.
The handler must carefully monitor the dog for signs of stress. Although stress signals
can vary depending on the animal, including shaking, putting ears back or their tails
between their legs, persistent licking, and not wanting to move away from the handler
(Friesen, 2009).
Factors Limiting the Effectiveness of Mentoring Programs
Mentorship in a school setting is a complex process. One must consider and plan
for the many contributing factors to instituting a mentoring program to be successful.
Research surrounding mentoring and effective program components is widespread in the
educational setting and across various other organizations, including business, medical,
and other fields of employment. Multiple components are generalized as effective for
mentoring across different settings. Some that are common are knowledge or training of
the mentor, communication and establishing trust, commitment and engagement, and
altruism of the mentor (Holmes et al., 2018).
For mentors to effectively implement an intervention with students, especially
those with traumatic backgrounds, they must be adequately trained on a structured
mentoring process as well as trauma-informed practices. Interdisciplinary training that

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ranges from brain science, neurobiology, and mental health to the effects of trauma as
they present in school settings is essential to mentor-mentee success in the program
(Thomas et al., 2019). Often, social-emotional learning curricula are intertwined with
mentoring programs. The structure of this united approach allows educators to use a
scientifically based curriculum that targets trauma-informed approaches so that all
students are getting the needed support to be successful.
Establishing a relationship of trust between the mentor and mentee is crucial to
the effectiveness of all other aspects of the mentoring program. A trusting relationship
will help the student connect to school and feel a sense of belonging. It can also
positively impact attendance, academic motivation, and goal setting. Coping skills, social
skills, problem-solving skills, and an increased perception of a positive school climate
are contingent on the relationship between mentor and student having a foundation of
trust. Trust is essential because students with trauma backgrounds struggle to feel safe
and connected. Building trusting relationships will create a space for students to feel safe
and empowered and learn to thrive (Imad, 2022).
Mentor Commitment
Commitment and engagement are factors that can contribute to a variety of
educational initiatives. If a mentor is committed and has bought into the concept of
mentoring, their guidance and encouragement will have the ability to enhance a student’s
engagement in school activities. A study on supporting foster youth through a mentoring
program resulted in information from stakeholder groups that found positive outcomes
when a trusted adult was fully and emotionally invested in the student's well-being
(Kimes, 2019). Without the mentor's investment, it has been found that the school can
influence the results negatively as a moderating factor in the effectiveness of the trauma-

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informed intervention. Specifically, according to Burckhardt (2017), “the teacher’s
attitude to the study may influence the engagement of students” (p. 25).
As previously stated, mentors must fully embrace the educational practice of
mentoring for positive and sustained results to be recognized. This concept ties directly
into the final common factor: the altruism of the mentor. As can be seen in any situation
when a person genuinely cares versus those where an obligation is being fulfilled, the
approach and passion toward the project are evident when altruism is at the heart of it.
Miranda-Diaz et al. (2020) found that “altruism and empathy, particularly the
ability to connect with youth across cultural differences, are considered important mentor
attributes conducive to healthy mentoring relationships” (p. 174). Mentors who take an
altruistic approach to mentoring are more likely to become culturally competent and
build an understanding and respect for the diverse backgrounds of their mentees.
Understanding and respect can lead to a more productive and effective mentorship
relationship.
Challenges and Limitations of Trauma-informed Interventions
Trauma-informed interventions are a fairly recent trend in education. Therefore,
the amount of research related to the effectiveness of these interventions in a school
setting is limited. Furthermore, as their inception in the school setting becomes common,
researchers find that initiatives conducted without proper professional development are
less effective. Furthermore, teacher well-being may also be impacted by the increase in
mental health needs in schools and the added task of implementing trauma-informed
interventions. A consideration that almost half of the teachers in a national sample have
stated they plan to transfer or leave the education profession due to school safety and
climate concerns, a lack of teacher resources, and mental health needs further illustrate

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the need to provide added training and resources for teachers (Cafaro et al., 2023). In this
study, the trauma-informed interventions of therapy dogs and mentoring offer specific
challenges to educators.
Challenges of Therapy Dog Programs in the Educational Setting
A challenge educational institutions face when implementing therapy dogs is
inconsistent intervention implementation. There are several ways that therapy dog
programs operate in schools. A significant difference is the distinction between schools
owning and handling their therapy dog or handlers volunteering or being paid to bring
therapy dogs from an outside agency or private contractor. When therapy dogs are
brought into the school setting by outside handlers, there is a potential for inconsistency
in their presence. Students should have regular and predictable access to a therapy dog to
build a trusting relationship. Regular access occurs through careful scheduling and
ensuring that contingency plans are in place when the therapy dog or the student is
unavailable.
Time with students is a factor in consistent scheduling, as stated above, as well as
the amount of intervention time scheduled. A study examining the effects of therapy dogs
as a crisis intervention found inconclusive results based on multiple factors, a major one
being the limited time that the intervention took place. The researchers concluded that the
current study incorporated a fifteen-minute intervention, which was likely too short to
positively influence stress symptoms over an extended period (Lass-Hennemann et al.,
2018). A second study, which focused on the influences of interacting with pets when in
distress, had a similar finding as the former study. Individuals in that study only had tenminute interactions per session, leaving researchers questioning the effectiveness of a
short intervention period (Matijczak et al., 2023).

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Resource constraints are also a cause for concern with a therapy dog program.
Proper training and handling of therapy dogs is crucial for successful implementation in a
school setting. While there may be interest from a school district in implementing a
therapy dog program, there may not be trained handlers and dogs who can fill the need.
More research is needed to support the implementation of therapy dogs in schools, but it
is not significantly widespread. If more studies are completed, and there are academic,
social-emotional, and behavioral benefits, there will likely be a need for handlers and
therapy dogs. When this occurs, the issues with finding properly trained handlers and
therapy dogs would hopefully decrease (Beck, 2015).
Limitations of Therapy Dog Programs in the Educational Setting
It is important to note that the benefits of therapy dogs may not be generalized to
all individuals or all trauma types. For this study, therapy animals will be used as a
whole-class intervention. However, considerations must be made for the safety and wellbeing of all students. Some students may have experienced traumatic events involving
dogs in their childhoods and would not benefit from a therapy dog intervention.
Others may have allergies to or fear of dogs, which would counteract any
perceived benefit. In his study on therapy dogs in school and well-being, Baird (2023)
concluded that:
participants believed that these students, who often have a generalized fear of
dogs, could experience anxiety and panic in the presence of therapy dogs.
Participants also reflected on the emotional effects that therapy dogs could have
on students with little or no experience with dogs, especially those without pet
dogs at home.” While this study was qualitative and asked for participants'

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perceptions, these sentiments were shared across multiple participants and,
therefore, need to be considered when implementing a therapy dog program.
(p. 7)
There is a vast expanse of therapy dog interventions, which vary from targeted
goals (academic, social-emotional, trauma recovery, physical activity) to individuals’
backgrounds (physical disabilities, cognitive disabilities, mental health concerns, reading
deficits). Although research has found benefits across multiple goals, settings, and
participant abilities, there should not be a generalized view that if the intervention works
for one area of need, it will apply to all.
Another limitation of therapy dog programming is the inconsistency of current
practices. Using a therapy dog as an intervention in the school setting is gaining
popularity. However, there are currently few resources accessible to educators that give
guidelines and procedures for implementing a therapy dog program in various settings
and with multiple populations of students (Grové et al., 2021).
Challenges of Mentoring Programs in the Educational Setting
Similar to therapy dog intervention, mentoring programs can face unique
challenges in the educational setting. Although not limited to the following, several
challenges are noted across multiple research studies. These include limited mentoring
time, successful matching of mentors and mentees, professional development issues, and
cultural sensitivity.
Time constraints are a problem that many educators face when implementing a
mentoring program. This challenge is partly due to the staffing shortage many schools
face today and a scheduling issue. Schools are currently resource-constrained in multiple
areas, such as dealing with learning loss and providing special education or mental health

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services, and therefore, program benefits need to be maximized through proper training
(Cafaro et al., 2023) and creative uses of time and human resources. This challenge ties
directly into the next issue of concern: matching mentors and mentees to allow for the
most successful relationships. The issue of assigning mentors and mentees is of great
importance when considering the backgrounds and needs of the mentored students. For
instance, a study of fostered students showed that the mentorship program was
unsuccessful if there was no trusting relationship between mentors and mentees (Kimes,
2019). Furthermore, mentors who felt they were inappropriately trained to deal with
students who have experienced trauma were not likely to complete their mentor
relationships.
Similar to the consideration of a therapy dog program in educational settings, as
previously stated, mentoring programs in a public school must be sensitive to cultural
backgrounds and differences. Miranda-Diaz et al. (2020) state, “Since mentors and youth
often come from different socio-cultural backgrounds, mentors’ skills and ability to
appreciate those differences are crucial to build and maintain a strong relationship” (p.
178). Despite these challenges, research has shown that mentoring can have positive
effects and benefits for students if considerations are made for program structure and
appropriate professional development is in place. Given appropriate professional
development, mentors will be able to have the skills necessary to determine student
needs, understand differences and background considerations, and provide the necessary
level of support.
Limitations of Mentoring Programs in the Educational Setting
Mentoring programs are not new to educational settings. There is research to
support the use of such programs for targeting truancy, behavior concerns, and students

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who have experienced trauma (Maynard et al., 2012; Miranda-Díaz et al., 2020; Wall,
2020). The most significant limitation apparent across most research studies is the lack
of a consistent structure and supporting professional development for staff. If educators
are going to successfully mentor students who have trauma backgrounds or mental health
concerns, there must be a learned understanding of how best to support those students.
Trauma-informed interventions, explicitly mentoring, are not passing trends.
Imad (2022) writes, "It is about wanting to disrupt educational systems that too often
prioritize knowing over caring, competition over collaboration, intervention over
prevention, and individuals over community” (p. 45). In order to effectively implement
this belief, educators need the appropriate training, resources, and support from the
administration to implement programs effectively. Effective implementation will be
evident in data supporting increased student achievement, attendance, and perception of
school culture by mentored students.
Administration plays a vital role in the implementation of any intervention
program. Intervention programs typically need approval from the Superintendent's office
to ensure equity among all school buildings. Once approved, building leaders must
support the implementation of the adopted program(s) by managing scheduling and
human resource needs. The building principal must also monitor interventions to ensure
they occur as scheduled and follow the appropriate protocols.
Implications for Practice
The literature overarchingly states that for therapy dog and mentoring
intervention practices, there must be consistency, structure, and training for programs to
be effectively implemented in school settings. Professional development should focus not
only on applying trauma-informed practices but also on organizing and structuring the

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interventions. For instance, staff members need information about session structure
regarding relational information versus goal setting and academic encouragement. They
also need to build systems in the classroom structure and organization that allow student
mentoring or therapy dog interventions to occur.
Another vital component of implementing trauma-informed interventions is the
collaboration between home and school. Therapy dog interventions require background
information from families on allergy concerns, fear of dogs, and cultural customs that
may interfere with a student's ability to participate in the intervention. Similarly, families
must be aware that mentoring programs will encourage students to build trusting
relationships and, therefore, prompt students to talk about their personal experiences and
academic life experiences. Overall, with thoughtful planning, organization, and devotion
of resources to trauma-informed interventions, therapy dogs and mentoring programs
could benefit students in the school setting.

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Chapter III
Methodology
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health concerns in public
schools have risen. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2022), a
staggering 96% of public schools reported that the number of students requesting mental
health services increased. Penns Valley Area School District found this same trend to be
true. From pre-COVID-19 to the present, threat and risk assessments in the district
increased by 18% and discipline referrals by 122% (Penns Valley Area School District,
2024). This startling trend precipitated the need for analysis of research related to
increasing the mental health of students in public schools. In this chapter, the framework
that was used to analyze the effects of the trauma-informed interventions of therapy dogs
and mentoring on student behavior, attendance, and perception of school culture was
introduced. Trauma-informed interventions were defined as “programs, organizations, or
systems that realize the impact of trauma, recognize the symptoms of trauma, respond by
integrating knowledge about trauma policies and practices, and seek to reduce
retraumatization” (Maynard et al., 2019, p. 1).
A mixed-methods research design was utilized to synthesize qualitative data from
teacher surveys regarding student perceptions of school climate, local student assessment
data about school culture, and quantitative data from the school district’s student
information system on attendance, behavior, and threat and risk assessments. The mixedmethods research design allowed for a comprehensive analysis of the research problem,
with the intent to contribute to in-depth insights about the effectiveness of therapy dogs
and mentoring interventions in the public school setting.

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Purpose
Declining mental health across the United States has driven a need for local
school districts to employ trauma-based interventions in educational settings. The State
of Student Mental Health Survey (ECINS, 2022) stated that 85% of respondents agreed
that students are more stressed than in previous years. The National Center for
Educational Statistics (2022) reported that just 56% of schools have the support needed
to deal with increased student needs in public schools. Based on this data, it was
determined that there was a need for further research into trauma-informed interventions,
specifically those that trained staff to use a trauma-informed lens when they prevented
and de-escalated problematic behaviors (Maynard et al., 2019). Therapy dogs and
mentoring were identified as two trauma-informed interventions that showed potential
for increasing school culture, attendance, and behavior in schools. The existing research
showing positive effects of these interventions as well as the ability to implement them in
a school setting flexibly, led to their employment as the chosen trauma-informed
interventions of this research study.
Multiple research studies (Gómez-Calcerrada et al., 2021; Grové et al., 2021;
Melson, 2003) found that the implementation of therapy dogs had positive effects on
academic, behavioral, and social-emotional growth. Furthermore, Grové et al. (2021)
linked the implementation of a therapy dog program in school to student reports of
feeling more connected to the school community and having a greater sense of
belonging. This, in turn, led to an increase in school attendance. Improved behavior was
also a consideration of the therapy dog research. A survey of teachers about the
implementation of a therapy dog program noted increased attention, motivation, mood,

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well-being, social-emotional development, and cognitive development in students when
the therapy dogs were present (Brelsford et al., 2017).
Research on mentoring programs in public schools also revealed positive effects
on behavior, attendance, and school culture. Rivers (2010) found that having a contact
person in school and being involved in a mentorship program were factors contributing to
improved student attendance in school. The positive correlation between a safe and
trusting environment through a mentoring program and student growth in conflict
resolution and social competence was also identified (Wall, 2021). These results were
further supported by Vreeman and Carroll (2007), who found that positive relationships
among adults and students led to improved culture.
Penns Valley Area School District identified a need to improve the mental health
and school perception trends. The decision to focus on these areas was a conclusion
formed through the school district’s comprehensive planning committee. The committee
met multiple times during the 2021-2022 school year and analyzed local survey data as
well as academic data (Penns Valley Area School District, 2024). They determined that
mental health and perceptions of school culture were two areas that need to be considered
in future planning. An analysis of therapy dogs and mentoring interventions was needed
to assist the school district in developing effective plans to target mental health concerns.
While an analysis of existing research occurred in the literature review, research with
Penns Valley Area School District participants exploring the district’s own data provided
the most guidance on whether one or both of these interventions would effectively meet
the needs of students in the district. Therefore, four research questions were identified to
determine the relationship between student and teacher participant perceptions of school

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climate and therapy dogs and also the relationship between student and teacher
participant perceptions of school climate and mentoring in the Penns Valley Area School
District. The four questions that guided the research are as follows:
1. What is the relationship between student’s perceptions of school climate and the
presence of a class-wide therapy dog as measured by student behavioral office
referrals, Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat and Risk Assessments,
school attendance, and the Penns Valley Area School District School Culture
Survey during the 2023-2024 school year?
2. What is the relationship between students’ perceptions of school climate and the
use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring program as measured by behavior,
Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat and Risk Assessments, school
attendance, and Penns Valley Area School District School Culture and Climate
survey during the 2023-2024 school year?
3. What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school climate and the
use of a class-wide therapy dog as measured by a teacher perception survey?
4. What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school climate and the
use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring program as measured by a teacher
perception survey?
These questions were designed to understand the effects of mentoring and therapy
dog programs on school climate through the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data.
The information gained from this study supported a comprehensive view of the urgency
surrounding increased support for students, given trends in mental health and school

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climate data in relation to the benefits and limitations of these trauma-informed
interventions.
Setting & Participants
The Penns Valley Area School District, located in Central Pennsylvania, is a
small, rural school district known to the localized community for the large amount of
land that it spans. It envelopes roughly 255 square miles, and the entire area has a
population of 13,180 people (“Penns Valley Area School District – U.S. News
Education,” 2021). Although the census shows a slow growth in the population, this is
mainly credited to the increase in the Amish population that lives in the school district.
Therefore, the census growth has not transferred to an increased district enrollment, as
the school-aged children of Amish families in the Penns Valley Area School District do
not traditionally attend public school.
Penns Valley Area School District had an enrollment of 1,430 students in
Kindergarten through twelfth grade, with a median household income of families in the
district of $63,105 (“Penns Valley Area School District - U.S. News Education,” 2022).
While this rural community has been home to many small business owners and farmers,
The Pennsylvania State University, located within a half-hour distance from most areas
in the school district, has been a significant source of employment for the Penns Valley
residents (Shields et al., 2006).
Penns Valley Area School District students are separated into four buildings
district-wide. There are two kindergarten through fourth-grade buildings on the outlying
ends of the district. More centrally located are an elementary and intermediate school and
a junior and senior high school. The elementary and intermediate school, Penns Valley

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Elementary and Intermediate School, contains one of the three kindergarten through
fourth-grade elementary schools. It also houses all of the fifth and sixth-grade students
district-wide on the intermediate side of the building. Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School has five sections of fifth-grade students and five sections of sixthgrade students, with 87 students in fifth grade and 104 students in sixth grade. Programs
for elementary students who receive multi-disability support, autism support, and
emotional support are also housed at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School.
Five students participate in the multi-disability classroom for fifth and sixth grades and
two students who are enrolled in the emotional support classroom at these grade levels.
All of these students were present in homeroom classes for the therapy dog and
mentoring interventions.
The school district's student population was 96% white (Penns Valley Area
School District, 2024). The high percentage of white students suggested that the
community may have demonstrated a bias toward the traditions and values of that
culture. These traditions and cultural considerations were accounted for when
determining interventions appropriate for the research study. Approximately 38% of
students in the district qualified as economically disadvantaged (Penns Valley Area
School District, 2024). At the elementary level, the students identified as economically
disadvantaged are enrolled in three separate elementary buildings. Given that in fifth
grade, students from all three elementary buildings are combined at Penns Valley
Elementary and Intermediate School, it provided representation of all demographics of
students in the Penns Valley Area School District in one building.

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The research setting chosen for this study was Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School. This school housed one of the three kindergarten through fourthgrade buildings in the district as well as the entirety of the fifth and sixth grade
population of the district. Given its unique construct and the fact that all students in the
district combined for the first time when entering fifth grade at Penns Valley Elementary
and Intermediate School, it provided an opportunity to utilize a research setting that
represented the diverse needs of the district in one school building.
Sixteen percent of students in the Penns Valley Area School District qualified for
Special Education services (Penns Valley Area School District, 2024). The majority of
elementary students who received special education services in the district attend Penns
Valley Elementary and Intermediate School. This is due to the fact that special programs
for students with supplemental support needs have historically been located at Penns
Valley Elementary and Intermediate School. Students in these programs were included in
regular education classrooms during mentoring and therapy dog sessions which allowed
for a full demographic of the district’s enrollment to be studied.
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School represented the diverse
demographics of the district. It also was determined to be a viable option as a research
setting through a review of Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) data from 2021
(Pennsylvania Department of Education et al., 2021). This data revealed that 72% of
students in grades six and eight said they felt sad or depressed on most days. Data from
the same survey indicated that 45% of these students sometimes think that life is not
worth living. These numbers have increased since the pandemic of 2020 and were

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factored into human resource considerations, curriculum planning, and intervention
support in the Penns Valley Area School District.
This research study was implemented in the Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School with participant teachers from the fifth and sixth-grade classrooms.
The 191 students enrolled in the fifth and sixth grades were separated into 10 homeroom
sections. There were five sections at the fifth-grade level and five at the sixth-grade level,
with one regular teacher in each classroom. There were two paraprofessional staff
members who supported students with learning disabilities in the regular education fifthgrade classrooms. There was also one special education teacher who supported students
with learning support in the regular education classrooms. All of these individuals were
invited to participate in the study, for a total of 13 potential participants.
Students in fifth and sixth grade also had classes with Itinerant teachers for art,
music, agriculture, guidance, and physical education. They saw these teachers one week
consecutively and then rotated to another Itinerant class the following week. The
Itinerant teachers were not invited to participate in the study as they only had contact
with the fifth and sixth-grade students one out of every five weeks. There was a school
counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, and building principal who also
worked with students. As they did not consistently interact with the students, they also
were not asked to participate in the study.
Informed consent procedures were reviewed with all potential participants of the
research study. The availability of an opt-out option and consent statement were clearly
indicated in the survey, as depicted in Appendix B. The survey and informed consent
statement were approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB).

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Research Plan
This research plan was aimed at trauma-informed interventions and the
relationship they had on student perceptions of school culture and mental health. The
Fifth and sixth-grade classrooms at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School
implemented mentoring and therapy dog visits during the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023
school years. However, they were used as grade-level strategies or class rewards and did
not provide the level of focus, intent, and planning necessary to be considered
interventions for students. Mentoring and therapy dogs continued to be utilized at Penns
Valley Elementary and Intermediate School for the 2023-2024 school year. However, in
order to determine the relationship between the interventions and student and teacher
perceptions of school culture for fifth and sixth-grade students, classrooms participated in
either a therapy dog intervention or a mentoring intervention rather than having a broad
exposure to both. Participants in each intervention were provided with a structure to
follow for the 2023-2024 school year.
Participants in this study were chosen using multi-stage random sampling, which
is a process “that is a combination of cluster random sampling and simple random
sampling” (Mertler, 2022, p. 22). Teachers of fifth and sixth-grade classrooms as well as
the learning support teacher and learning support paraprofessionals who supported in
those classrooms, were asked to participate in the study. Participants were chosen for
either the mentoring or therapy dog intervention through mixed-random sampling. All
participants were given the option to opt out of participation in the research study.
Multi-stage random sampling was utilized by assigning one color to fifth-grade
teachers and one color to sixth-grade teachers. Each participating teacher for fifth grade

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was assigned to the blue group and placed in order from one to five based on the
alphabetization of their last name. The same process was followed for sixth-grade
participants, except they were placed in the white group. An online randomizer was
programmed with the options of therapy dog or mentoring, and the colors blue and white
were used to assign an intervention to each participating teacher. The randomizer chose a
color and an intervention. The color indicated which group of participants would be
assigned to the intervention.
The intervention was assigned to the participants of the chosen group in
numerical order from least to greatest. The process was repeated until three participants
for each color were assigned to the same intervention. The remaining participants were
assigned to the second intervention. For instance, if the randomizer assigned the white
group the interventions mentoring, mentoring, therapy dog, and mentoring in that order,
the researcher stopped using the randomizer and assigned the therapy dog to the final
white group participant. The process was repeated until all blue and white group
participants were assigned to an intervention. This process ensured there were a similar
number of fifth- and sixth-grade participants in each intervention group.
Intervention Structure
The participants assigned to the therapy dog intervention met with the therapy
dog one time every other week for a twenty-minute session, for a total of 28 sessions.
Upon the therapy dog's arrival to the classroom, the students formed small groups or one
large circle at the discretion of the classroom teacher. The student group or groups,
facilitated by the teacher, then proceeded to choose a topic to discuss. As with the
formation of the groups, the types of topics discussed were at the discretion of the

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classroom teacher but included things such as students’ favorite animals, a time they felt
brave, a place they would like to travel, etc. The therapy dog moved among students or
student groups in the room during the facilitated discussion and interacted with all
students unless a student chose not to interact with him. While not set as an activity
requirement, all teachers chose to follow a similar class discussion format during their
therapy dog sessions. This created a therapy dog environment that followed a consistent
structure and created an analogous examination of the data.
The student mentoring session consisted of a ten-minute, one-to-one session with
the mentor and student once every other week. The mentor followed a loosely created
script, such as the one below, but flexibly adjusted to individual student responses:
● Three minutes: The mentor posed an opening question designed to spark
conversation (ex: If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?).
● Six minutes: The mentor asked deepening questions (examples: What is
important to you? What are some things you are curious about?).
● One minute: The mentor thanked the student for sharing and discussed when the
next session would occur.
The questions and session outline were adapted from the Summit Learning Mentoring
Model (Summit Learning Program, 2023). All mentors were trained in the Summit
Learning Mentoring Model and had access to its resources.
Data Collection
Perception of school culture data for each classroom was analyzed based on
Penns Valley Area School District’s School Climate and Culture survey data, behavior
referral data, threat and risk assessment data, and the Perception of Student Climate and

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Culture survey data completed by research study participants (Penns Valley Area School
District, 2022). Ten participants completed the survey in September, January, and April.
Additionally, pre-existing data was collected for each of the 191 students in fifth and
sixth grade at the Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School.
The participant survey collected participants' perceptions of the culture of their
classrooms (Appendix B). It was given in September prior to the start of the
interventions, in January as a mid-point data collection, and in April at the conclusion of
the interventions. The survey questions were designed to determine if the intervention
programs had an effect on class culture as perceived by the participants. The questions in
the survey presented minimal risk to participants outside of everyday risks. The
participants had previous experience answering school culture questions through the
Penns Valley Area School District’s School Climate and Culture survey (Penns Valley
Area School District, 2022) given to teachers, staff, students, and community members
each year. Furthermore, they had the opportunity to decline a question if they were not
comfortable answering it. Participants were fully informed of the research methods and,
therefore, were considered informed participants. The actual interventions of therapy
dogs and mentoring presented a minimal risk. Both interventions focused on whole-class
positive interactions and did not target individual negative behaviors.
Given the nature of trauma-informed interventions, students involved in the
interventions could have potentially become uncomfortable or have found themselves in
need of counselor support during or after an intervention session. A counseling team was
available if an immediate referral was needed for any participant during or following
therapy dog or mentoring sessions. However, no students were in need of counseling

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services related to the therapy dog or mentoring interventions for the duration of the
research study. Finally, dog allergies had the potential to be a concern for therapy dog
intervention classrooms. Parents and guardians of all students at the Penns Valley
Intermediate School were informed about the therapy dog (Appendix C). The letter’s
purpose was to help parents understand a therapy dog's role and list the purpose of using
one. It also encouraged families to contact the researcher if they had any questions or
concerns. Based on the information in the letter, they were able to ask that their student
did not interact with the dog during or outside of therapy sessions. No parents of
students, students, or teachers reported concerns about therapy dog involvement.
Research Methods & Data Collection
Analysis of the research questions for this study was done through a mixedmethod data collection design. Specifically, the Convergent-Parallel Mixed-Methods
framework was the most effective design for gathering the types of data needed to
support the analysis of all research questions. The convergent-parallel approach is the
“simultaneous collection of qualitative and quantitative data followed by the combination
and comparison of these multiple data sources” (Edmonds & Kennedy, 2017). This
framework allowed for concurrent examination of quantitative and qualitative data and
conjunctive and independent interpretation of the data. Pre-existing data on school-wide
behavior referrals, Penns Valley Area School District’s School Climate and Culture
survey data, and threat and risk assessments were collected as qualitative data. This cooccurred with the collection of the quantitative participant survey data regarding student
perceptions of school climate and culture, which occurred before, during, and after
participation in the therapy dog and mentoring interventions. While all collected data

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were analyzed independently and considered essential for determining relationships
between interventions and student perceptions and behavior, forming relationships based
on all available data and giving each equal prioritization provided the most holistic view
of the effectiveness of the interventions.
Historical Data
Baseline and ongoing behavior referral data for fifth—and sixth-grade students of
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School were collected monthly during the
study. This data was necessary to determine if a relationship existed between traumainformed interventions and student behavior. The baseline data collected indicated a rise
in behavior incidences since the Pandemic of 2020, as depicted in Table 1. Had a
relationship existed between the trauma-informed interventions implemented and
behavior, the number of referrals for the 2023-2024 school year should have declined.
Table 1
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade Office Discipline
Referrals
School Year

Number of Office Discipline Referrals

2020 - 2021

45

2021 - 2022

55

2022 - 2023

100

Threat and risk assessments became a mandated protocol in Pennsylvania public
schools with the addition of Article IIX-E, Threat Assessment, to Act 18 of 2019 (P.L.30,
No.14). At Penns Valley Area School District, threat and risk assessments have been on a
rising trend since that time. Data for Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School

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fifth and sixth-grade students from the previous two school years showed this trend (See
Table 2). Although a recent safety protocol in public school districts, the preexisting data
to this research study added a further form of analysis of mental health and allowed for
the examination of the relationship between the therapy dog and mentoring interventions
and student perception of school culture and climate. Threat and Risk Assessment data
was also collected for the 2023-2024 school year on a monthly basis to determine if there
was a decline in these assessments since the implementation of therapy dog and
mentoring programs.
Table 2
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School Fifth and Sixth-Grade Threat and Risk
Assessments
School Year

Number of Threat Assessments

Number of Risk Assessments

2021-2022

8

0

2022 - 2023

4

7

Additionally, attendance data for fifth and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley
Intermediate School was collected for the years 2020-2021 through 2022-2023 (See
Table 3). This data was analyzed to determine if the addition of mentoring and therapy
dog interventions affected student attendance. Over the past four years, attendance has
been significantly influenced by illnesses related to the COVID-19 Pandemic and cultural
responses to masking mandates and safety protocols put in place when public schools
reopened. Therefore, extraneous variables were considered during the analysis of
attendance data, such as the spikes in absenteeism during the 2020-2021 school year due
to prolonged illnesses. However, given the fact that the attendance data was analyzed in a

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mixed-methods framework in addition to multiple sources of data, historical attendance
data and data collected during the research study added value to a comprehensive
analysis of the research questions.
Table 3
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade Percent Present in
School
Grade

2020-2021

2021-2022

2022-2023

5th Grade

94.77%

92.18%

93.42%

6th Grade

95.42%

92.32%

93.18%

5th & 6th Grade
Combined

95.15%

92.32%

93.31%

Penns Valley Area School District’s School Culture and Climate survey data was
collected three times throughout the course of the research study. The school district has
given this survey since 2009 and data will continue to be collected at the conclusion of
this research study. The district has used this data in previous years to create goals for the
improvement of school culture through the Comprehensive Planning process. The
baseline data collected for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years was inclusive of
all third through sixth-grade student data for Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate
School (See Table 4). Therefore, the data represents a larger sample of students than the
data pulled specific to fifth and sixth-grade students for the 2023-2024 school year.
The survey did not collect student names; however, students indicated their
homeroom teacher and grade level. This information allowed the data to be analyzed in a
way that was specific to the intervention being employed in that homeroom class. While

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the full Penns Valley School Culture and Climate survey includes questions related to a
variety of topics, for the purpose of this research study, specific questions were pulled
that directly related to school culture and climate (See Appendix C).
Table 4
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School Third through Sixth Grade School
Culture and Climate Survey Results
Survey Question

2021-2022 2022-2023

Student surveys indicate a feeling of being safe.

93.58%

97.10%

Student surveys indicate they feel like they belong.

84.82%

92.14%

Student surveys indicate that their teachers care about them.

96.29%

98.37%

Student surveys indicate that their principal cares about them.

91.67%

94.97%

Student surveys indicate that they are recognized for good work.

89.89%

89.24%

Student surveys indicate that others treat them with respect.

72.52%

86.67%

Student surveys indicate that they have good friends.

93.2%

92.5%

Student surveys indicate that they like school.

79.29%

89.59%

Participant Data
The final piece of data analyzed was the Student Perception of School Climate
survey given to research participants in September, January, and April. Participants were
not identifiable in the final data analysis of the Student Perception of School Climate
survey data. Details about the type of intervention used with the participant’s group were
collected for analysis of the relationships between each intervention and student behavior
and perceptions of school. However, further identifying information was not collected,
and therefore, there was no breach of the participants' confidentiality. In order to

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mitigate the potential of this risk of a break in confidentially occurring, participant names
were not kept in the exact location as their data. The researcher used a key to ensure that
the analysis of data occurred without risk to the participants. The researcher, Dr. John
Ziegler, Penn West Committee Chair, and the Institutional Review Board were the only
individuals who had access to the key.
Participants were included in a mixed-methods investigation that provided insight
into the potential effects of two specific types of trauma-informed interventions. The
survey data they provided allowed the researcher to determine if there was a relationship
between the interventions and student behavior and student perceptions of school
climate. Beyond the scope of personal benefit for students in the Penns Valley Area
School District, the research contributed to the literature related to the trauma-informed
interventions of a therapy dog and mentoring, the relevancy of which is high given data
that supports a mental health crisis in public school settings.
All participants were informed of the study and an informed consent statement
was included at the top of the survey and stated the following (See Appendix B). The
survey did not collect identifiable information from the participants; a moderator
collected it as a further measure of confidentiality. Data was stored on a hard drive,
which will remain for a period of two years upon completion of the study. After that
time, the data will be destroyed. Any paper evidence or documentation related to this
study will be destroyed after the two-year period ends. All of these methods are
completed with the purpose of ensuring the confidentiality of participants.

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Fiscal Implications
There were minimal financial implications for the implementation of this research
study. The handler of the therapy dog used in the therapy dog intervention was
responsible for the dog’s insurance and volunteered her time. Therefore, there was no
monetary cost to the district for the therapy dog intervention. The mentoring program,
which had been established in the building for multiple years, used a free resource for
training, support, and session structure. The sole monetary cost for this research was for
paper used to print pre-existing data collections from the various school district
platforms, as seen in Table 5.
Table 5
Fiscal Implications
Account

Description

Budget

10-1110-610-000-10-230

Paper

$100.00

Total

$100.00

There were indirect costs associated with the research study. The first of these
was time. The therapy dog intervention was implemented in participating classrooms for
twenty minutes every other week. One-to-one mentoring occurred for each student in the
participants' classrooms for twenty minutes bi-weekly during the mentoring intervention.
This required time to be built into classroom schedules in order for these interventions to
occur. Participants built schedules to ensure that the mentoring and therapy dog
interventions were able to occur. However, there was a need for flexibility in scheduling
as well to account for unexpected occurrences. This included school closures, illness of
the therapy dog handler, absences of the mentors, and unforeseen events at Penns Valley

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Elementary and Intermediate School that took precedence over the intervention
schedules. This was partially accounted for by reviewing the school calendar in advance
and adding additional weeks of therapy dog visits or mentoring to compensate for
scheduled vacation days from school.
The researcher used a district-supplied laptop and charging cord to retrieve data.
Google Forms, Google Sheets, Penns Valley Area School District’s student information
systems, and access to wireless internet were also needed. The researcher had access to a
lockable filing cabinet and utilized this filing cabinet to store printed data during the
research study.
Validity
Evaluating the validity of a research study is necessary so that the researcher
ensures an authentic representation of collected data. According to Hendricks (2017),
validity is a term used to describe the trustworthiness of a study. Furthermore, Lincoln
and Guba’s trustworthiness criteria are referenced further to define validity (Lincoln &
Guba, 1985). The criteria are credibility, transferability, dependability, and
confirmability. Hendricks (2017) ascribes that all of these components are necessary to
ensure the validity of a research study.
This study used the triangulation of data in order to increase credibility. When
employing triangulation, the researcher ensured that multiple forms of data were being
analyzed. Qualitative data were gathered in the form of a participant survey regarding
student perceptions of school culture, and data was pulled from a pre-existing school
culture survey given to students district-wide three times each year. The participant
survey was designed to gather inquiry data about perceptions of school culture with

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questions that were similar in nature to those asked of students in the preexisting district
school culture survey that has been validated and given to Penns Valley Area School
District students for multiple years. The survey contained Likert-scale items, which
follow the format used in the district’s student school climate and culture survey. The
district survey for students and the participant surveys were given within a two-week
period of each other, providing perception data for the participants and students that
reflected the same window of time.
In this mixed-methods study, qualitative data was also collected. The data
included attendance trends, office discipline referrals, and threat and risk assessments
completed for the fifth and sixth-grade students of Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School. This data was accessed through school records in the student
information system. The data was triangulated with the survey data to determine if a
relationship could be formed between the implementation of a therapy dog and increased
school culture, as well as mentoring and increased school culture. The relationships
between the collected quantitative data and both trauma-informed interventions
implemented were explored as well.
It was important to examine qualitative and qualitative data synchronously, which
validated the credibility of the study. However, it was also important to examine the
reliability of measures. A moderator was used to collect participant survey data, ensuring
the anonymity of respondents. Additionally, school data was collected through classroom
overviews for each participant. This allowed the school data for students to be collected
and analyzed in comparison to the implemented intervention without revealing individual
student data.

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Summary
This chapter reviewed the methodologies associated with the comprehensive
study of the relationship between trauma-informed interventions and student perceptions
of school culture, as well as mental health. Qualitative research in the form of teacher
surveys and pre-existing school culture surveys, along with quantitative data on office
discipline referrals, threat and risk assessments, and attendance, were combined to form a
mixed-methods research design for the study. The need for effective trauma-informed
interventions was established through data that tended to an increase in mental health
concerns, as documented by existing student data, local student surveys, and student
surveys collected by the Commonwealth. This research study provided an analysis of the
interventions currently implemented at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate
School in order to determine their effectiveness in meeting the established needs of the
students.

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Chapter IV
Data Analysis and Results
The purpose of this examination of data was to determine the impact, if any, the
trauma-informed interventions of therapy dogs and mentoring had on school culture. It
also examined the effect, if any, of therapy dog and mentoring interventions on behavior
and attendance data. The data collected was comprised of attendance, office discipline
referrals, threat assessments, risk assessments, student school culture surveys, and
teacher perceptions of school culture surveys. The data was specific to fifth and sixthgrade students at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School in the Penns Valley
Area School District.
The historical data collected and reviewed in Chapter III combined fifth and
sixth-grade data, with the exception of attendance data that was broken down into grade
levels. Chapter IV data included the combined data that was used to analyze historical
data from 2020-2021, but also for the areas of attendance, behavior, threat and risk
assessments, and school culture that grouped responses by classrooms receiving
mentoring and those participating in therapy dog interventions. In addition to the
historical data, a teacher survey regarding the perception of student climate in their
classrooms was analyzed from teachers at Penns Valley Intermediate School who
participated in mentoring or therapy dog interventions and voluntarily completed the
survey.
Data Analysis
This research study explored the relationship between student perceptions of
school climate and teacher perceptions of school climate in relationship to two separate

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interventions, therapy dog and mentoring. To determine if a relationship existed, it was
necessary to analyze the data from two perspectives. First, data was analyzed with fifth
and sixth-grade students combined into one set. This allowed for the comparison of
trends from the 2020-2021 school year through the 2023-2024 school year. The data was
then analyzed by comparing data from the therapy dog intervention group and the
mentoring intervention group for the 2023-2024 school year. The separation of
intervention group data provided an analysis and comparison of each intervention’s
effectiveness.
The first research question, “What is the relationship between student’s
perceptions of school climate and the presence of a class-wide therapy dog as measured
by student behavioral office referrals, Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat and
Risk Assessments, school attendance, and the Penns Valley Area School District School
Culture Survey during the 2023-2024 school year?” was designed to determine the
relationship between student’s perception of school climate and the presence of a classwide therapy dog. Quantitative data in the form of office behavior referrals, threat
assessments, risk assessments, and school culture data. Historical data was collected for
fifth and sixth-grade students over the past two to three years (dependent upon
availability) and compared with data from the 2023-2024 school year. Additionally, data
from the 2023-2024 school year was broken down into homerooms participating in the
therapy dog intervention and the mentoring intervention. The aforementioned data sets
from homerooms who participated in the therapy dog intervention were analyzed for this
research question.

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The second research question, “What is the relationship between students’
perceptions of school climate and the use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring
program as measured by behavior, Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat and Risk
Assessments, school attendance, and Penns Valley Area School District School Culture
and Climate survey during the 2023-2024 school year?” also analyzed the students’
perceptions of school climate through the quantitative data office behavior referrals,
threat assessments, risk assessments, and qualitative school culture data. The data
analysis followed the same pattern as in the first research question, which was to
compare previous data to that of data collected during the research study and find where
variances in the data may occur. To answer this research question, the 2023-2024 data
was analyzed by homerooms participating in the mentoring intervention.
Unlike the first two research questions which focused on students’ perceptions of
school climate, the third and fourth research questions focused on teacher perceptions of
school climate. Specifically, the third question asked, “What is the relationship between
teacher perceptions of school climate and the use of a class-wide therapy dog as
measured by a teacher perception survey?”. The fourth question, which focused on
teacher perceptions of school climate when a mentoring intervention was in place, asked,
“What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school climate and the use of a
class-wide teacher-student mentoring program as measured by a teacher perception
survey?”. The qualitative data that was analyzed and interpreted for both of these
questions were obtained from a survey voluntarily answered by teachers whose classes
were participating in the interventions. The survey (See Appendix B) mirrored several of

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the questions analyzed from the district-wide annual student school climate survey,
which allowed for cross-tabulation when analyzing the data.
Results
Historical data from the 2020-2021 school year through the 2022-2023 school
year related to research questions one and two was gathered and used in the study's
methodology. The related data for the 2023-2024 school year was collected and
compared with the historical data from 2020-2021 through 2022-2023 to determine data
trends. The data analysis of the historical data compared with the 2023-2024 school year
was then compared to determine if therapy dog and mentoring interventions had a
positive impact on school culture.
Prior to the 2023-2024 school year at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate
School, fifth and sixth-grade students did not participate in class-wide, structured,
trauma-informed interventions. For the 2023-2024 school year, all fifth-grade students
participated in a trauma-informed intervention with either a therapy dog or mentoring.
Mentoring occurred in a one-to-one setting with a teacher, who would ask questions and
create a conversation about the student’s interests, academic goals, and other topics the
student wished to discuss. This happened bi-weekly for each student involved in the
mentoring intervention. Therapy dog sessions were a whole class intervention and
structured so that class discussions occurred around questions or topics. The comparison
of overall data for the 2023-2024 school year and historical data for 2020-2021 through
2022-2023 provided insight into the relationship between trauma-informed interventions
and increased student perception of school climate.

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Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade Office
Discipline Referral Data
Office Discipline Referral data for students in fifth and sixth grades at Penns
Valley Elementary and Intermediate School was collected for the 2020-2021 school year
through the 2023-2024 school year. Data was not collected for the 2019-2020 school year
as the building shut down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Figure 1 shows the
data from the 2023-2024 school year and three previous school years, 2020-2021 through
2022-2023.
Figure 1
Number of Office Discipline Referrals Per School Year

Note. The 2020-2021 school year data was included in the data set for Figure 1; however,
synchronous learning was offered during this time when students were home due to
COVID-19 illnesses, leading to a large number of students present online and not
physically in attendance at the school building.

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The 2023-2024 school year data showed a significant decrease in office discipline
referrals for all students in grades five and six at Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School from the previous school year, and lower than the 2021-2022 school
year. It must be considered that while higher by two referrals than the 2020-2021 school
year, the number of students who attended via online synchronous learning from their
homes or hospitals and, therefore, were not present in the building to receive an office
discipline referral.
The overall data showed a significant decrease in office discipline referrals for
students receiving office discipline referrals. Research question one, “What is the
relationship between student’s perceptions of school climate and the presence of a classwide therapy dog as measured by student behavioral office referrals, Penns Valley Area
School District’s Threat and Risk Assessments, school attendance, and the Penns Valley
Area School District School Culture Survey during the 2023-2024 school year?” and
research question two, “What is the relationship between students’ perceptions of school
climate and the use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring program as measured by
behavior, Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat and Risk Assessments, school
attendance, and Penns Valley Area School District School Culture and Climate survey
during the 2023-2024 school year?” focus specifically on the relationship between
student perceptions of school climate as related to each intervention: therapy dog and
mentoring. Figure 2 and Figure 3 represent the number of office discipline referrals by
fifth and sixth-grade students who participated in each intervention.

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Figure 2
Percentage of Office Discipline Referrals by Intervention

Students in the mentoring program intervention accounted for 17% of office
discipline referrals for fifth—and sixth-grade students. The number of individual students
accounting for referrals in each intervention had to be considered as well. This is
especially true considering that both the mentoring intervention and the therapy dog
intervention were inclusive of at least one student who not only received the class-wide
trauma-informed intervention but also had a behavior intervention plan in place in
addition to the trauma-informed intervention.

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Figure 3
Percentage of Unique Individuals with Office Discipline Referrals in Each Intervention
Area

The number of unique students accounting for the discipline referrals in each
intervention area was also important to the analysis of discipline data. Twenty-four
unique students were included among the 47 office discipline referrals, and two of the
students who received office discipline referrals accounted for 34% of the 47 office
discipline referrals. Both of these students were identified as needing a behavior plan and
behavioral support. One student was included in the mentoring intervention and one in
the therapy dog intervention.
Summary of Discipline Data
Attendance data for all students in fifth and sixth grade showed a significant
decrease of 53% in office discipline referrals from the 2022-2023 to the 2023-2024

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school year. All students were included in either mentoring or therapy dog interventions
for the 2023-2024 school year. Upon further breakdown, it was determined that although
only a slight margin of difference, students included in the therapy dog intervention have
17.4% less of the office discipline referrals. Further evaluation of the data indicated that a
total of 24 individual students contributed to the 47 office discipline referrals.
The therapy dog intervention group had the fewest individuals with at least one
office discipline referral, 12% fewer. While the therapy dog intervention group had fewer
individual students contributing to office discipline referrals and fewer overall referrals,
the discrepancy in data between the two groups was not as significant as the standalone
data. The data showed that both the therapy dog intervention and mentoring intervention
groups decreased in office discipline referrals from the 2022-2023 school year.
Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade Threat
and Risk Assessment Data
Threat and Risk Assessment procedures for the Penns Valley Area School District
were initiated during the 2021-2022 school year. Threat assessments are used to
determine if a person’s behavior poses a threat to another person. Risk assessments are
conducted when a person’s behavior poses a threat to themselves. The three years of data
collected on threat and risk assessments for fifth and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley
Elementary and Intermediate School were included in the analysis of student perceptions
of school climate for threat assessments. However, although the process for risk
assessments was active during the 2021-2022 school year, data on assessments was not
collected and retained. Therefore, data pertaining to student perceptions of school climate
through the lens of risk assessments was only available for the 2022-2023 school year

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and the 2023-2024 school year. Figure 4 represents the historical threat data, inclusive of
the 2023-2024 school year.
Figure 4
Number of Threat Assessments by School Year

The number of threat assessments over the past three years for fifth and sixthgrade students at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School has been on a
decreasing trend. The 2021-2022 school year marked the inception of the new threat
assessment process. The district did not provide in-depth training to non-members of the
threat assessment team during the first year. Therefore, several of the reported threats
were unfounded and did not warrant a referral to the threat assessment team. The
following school year, the district trained all employees on the threat assessment process.
There were less unfounded reports in the 2022-2023 school year. Although the specific

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cause is unknown, the knowledge of the process and the difference between a threat and
a poor choice of diction may have been relevant.
Figure 5 represents the number of risk assessments that occurred in the 20222023 and 2023-2024 school years. The risk assessment process was first implemented in
the 2021-2022 school year. However, data on the number of risk assessments performed
was not collected until the 2022-2023 school year. Therefore, there was less risk
assessment data to analyze than threat assessment data. Although there was less of a drop
from the previous school year in risk assessments than threat assessments, the data
showed that 28.6% fewer risk assessments were needed.
Figure 6 represents the number of risk assessments and threat assessments by
intervention type. The data showed that while the mentoring group had more threat
assessments for the 2023-2024 school year, the therapy dog group had more risk
assessments. However, it should be noted that there were only a total of two threat
assessments completed for fifth and sixth-grade students in the 2023-2024 school year at
Penns Valley Area School District and only five risk assessments. Overall, these numbers
have declined for both risk and threat assessments, leading to the conclusion of a positive
relationship between both the therapy dog and the mentoring intervention for student
perceptions of school climate.

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Figure 5
Number of Risk Assessments by School Year

Note. Risk assessment procedures were implemented at the same time as threat
assessment procedures in the 2021-2023 school year. However, Penns Valley Area
School District did not collect and record the number of risk assessments that occurred
that school year.

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Figure 6
Number of Threat and Risk Assessments by Intervention Group

Summary of Threat and Risk Assessment Data
Threat and risk assessment procedures at Penns Valley Area School District were
implemented during the last three years, with risk assessments having data for only the
last two school years, 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. The procedures include a structured
process for questioning students, determining threat or risk levels, and implementing
safety plans. However, there was a decreasing trend of threat and risk assessments from
the previous years to the 2023-2024 school year. While a limited scope, triangulation of
this data with other pieces of historical data was valuable in determining if relationships
existed between trauma-informed interventions and student perceptions of school
climate.

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Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School Fifth and Sixth-Grade
Attendance Data
Historical attendance data was collected for the 2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 20232024 school years. Although data could have been collected for years prior to 2021-2022,
the disruption of attendance due to COVID-19 and subsequent data trends upon students
returning to in-person learning made analysis of data prior to the 2020-2021 school year
irrelevant to current trends in attendance. This is due to the fact that the 2019-2020
school year was the first year that synchronous and online learning, as well as school
closings for extended periods of time, changed what it meant for students to be present in
school at Penns Valley Area School District. Figure 7 represents the school attendance
data for all fifth and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate
School who attended the past four years. Figure 8 is the attendance data grouped by
intervention area, mentoring or therapy dog.
Figure 7
Percentage of Students Present by School Year

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Figure 8
Percentage of Students Present in the 2023-2024 School Year by Intervention Group

Summary of Attendance Data
The past three years of attendance data have stayed consistent within 1.5%.
Despite a slightly higher percentage of attendance in the 2020-2021 school year, the
difference between that year and the 2023-2024 school year was only 1.4%. A further
analysis of the attendance data separated attendance percentages by the intervention
students participated in for the 2023-2024 school year. This data, like the combined and
historical data, showed little variance at a 0.5% difference. The attendance data collected
appeared to add no significant value to the relationship between mentoring and therapy
dog interventions in a class-wide setting.

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Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate Fifth and Sixth-Grade School Culture and
Climate Survey Data
The Penns Valley Area School District conducts student school culture and
climate surveys quarterly throughout each school year. Historical data from the 20212022 and 2022-2023 school years for the school culture and climate surveys was
collected and analyzed as a collective for fifth and sixth-grade students at the Penns
Valley Elementary and Intermediate School. The school culture and climate data survey
data is included in Figure 9 and organized by school year and survey question.
Figure 9
School Culture and Climate Survey Data by School Year

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Cultural survey data from the 2023-2024 school year were analyzed through
intervention groups. Figure 10 represents the collected school curriculum and climate
survey data by intervention group.
Figure 10
School Culture and Climate Survey Data by Intervention Group

Summary of Student School Culture and Climate Survey Data
There are insignificant variances between therapy dog and mentoring
interventions on the student school climate and culture survey questions. The one
question showing a more significant difference depending on intervention type is “I am

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respected by peers.” A variable attributed to this data is the inclusion of one homeroom’s
responses in the therapy dog group which was over 20% below the average in all groups.
If this outlier were removed from the therapy dog percentages, both intervention groups
would have the same percentage of positive responses. This same homeroom had
multiple data points in the school culture and climate survey that were lower than other
groups.
Overall, Student School Culture and Climate survey data showed a positive
increase or an insignificant decrease. Student feelings of being safe, having friends, and
liking school all had a small but significant increase from the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023
school years to the data collected during the 2023-2024 school year.
Summary of the Relationship Between Student Perceptions of School Climate and
Therapy Dog or Mentoring Interventions
Research questions one and two are closely related. They were written to
determine student perceptions of school culture measured through the same qualitative
and quantitative data pieces such as attendance, office discipline referrals, threat and risk
assessments quantitatively, and school culture survey data qualitatively. The difference in
the questions is that research question one targeted students participating in a therapy dog
intervention, which utilized a therapy dog during whole group discussions and team
building exercises, while research question two pertained to students participating in a
mentoring intervention, which provided a one-to-one space for students and their teacher
to answer questions related to home and school. In both cases, the teacher attempted to
build a trusting relationship with students. Analysis of the data related to these questions
needed to be conducted using two perspectives: One that viewed the data as a whole set

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that included all fifth and sixth-grade students participating in an intervention and one
that separated the data into therapy dog or mentoring intervention groups.
The purpose of this analysis approach was to account for the fact that all students
in fifth and sixth grade received trauma-informed intervention support on a class-wide
basis. This was a change from previous years when mentoring and therapy dog visits
were not class-wide and did not happen in a structured and consistent method. The
overall data was beneficial to an understanding of the relationship between student
climate and trauma-informed interventions. Data analysis by the mentoring or therapy
dog intervention group was necessary to answer each research question specifically. The
data was used to determine the effectiveness of trauma-informed interventions and to
form relationships that may exist between unique interventions and school climate.
Analysis of the threat and risk assessment data, office discipline referral data, and
school culture and climate data all showed a positive relationship between traumainformed interventions and student perception of positive school climate through
increased positivity on survey data and decreases in office discipline referrals and threat
and risk assessments for the 2023-2024 school year. Although only two to three years of
data were presented in some cases, all of these areas displayed a positive increase in the
2023-2024 school year. The triangulation of these data sources showed the positive
relationship between trauma-informed interventions and student perceptions of school
climate.
The final piece of data collected, attendance data, did not show significant growth
or decrease and instead maintained a consistent percentage when a trauma-informed
intervention was utilized. However, it must be noted that the attendance data for fifth—

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and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School has been
consistently high, above 92% from 2021-2022 through the 2023-2024 school year.
The next step of the data analysis process focused on the same data sets, which
were separated into each type of therapy and then compared. While a triangulation of the
combined data showed a positive relationship between the trauma-informed interventions
and student perception of school climate, the data by intervention did not indicate that
one intervention was more successful than the other in creating a positive school culture.
Both showed results at an almost equal percentage on each survey question area for
therapy dog and mentoring intervention groups.
Teacher Perceptions of School Climate
The final two research questions collected qualitative data through the use of a
teacher survey. The perception survey that was administered to teachers participating in
the mentoring or therapy dog interventions at the Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School was designed to have questions similar to the student perception of
school climate survey but from the lens of what teachers feel about their classroom
climate based on student responses to each other and to school. Research question
number three asked, “What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school
climate and the use of a class-wide therapy dog as measured by a teacher perception
survey?” Question number four explored, “What is the relationship between teacher
perceptions of school climate and the use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring
program as measured by a teacher perception survey?” Similar to the first two research
questions, they are related in the type of measurement used to determine the relationship
but differ in the type of intervention they measured.

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The responses to survey questions by teachers leading classes utilizing the
therapy dog intervention were used to analyze research question number three. There
were evident themes of high levels of feeling safe and respected. According to responses
from the teacher perception survey, students in the therapy dog program also regularly
attended school. Figures 11, 12, 13, and 14 represent the data collected from teacher
surveys regarding feelings of respect and safety as well as attendance. Very little
variance occurred from the initial survey data to the ending survey data.
Figure 11
Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Data: Respect Each Other

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Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Data: Treat Me with Respect

Figure 13
Therapy Dog Teacher Perception

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Figure 14
Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Data: Attend School Regularly

The majority of data collected from the therapy dog respondents to the teacher
perception survey was positive and formed a positive relationship conclusion between the
therapy dog intervention school climate. Data showed fewer positive results for questions
related to conflict and mean behavior. Figures 15, 16, and 17 are representative of the
conflict and mean behavior analysis. The data shows a slight decrease in positive
interactions from the initial teacher perception survey data to the final teacher perception
survey data.

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Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Survey: Rash Reactions

Figure 16
Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Survey: Student Arguments

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Figure 17
Therapy Dog Teacher Perception Survey: Students Look Out for Selves

Research question four, which inquired about the relationship between mentoring
and teacher perception of school climate, had themes similar to research question three,
which asked about the relationship between teacher perception of school climate and the
therapy dog intervention. The data shows that teachers of students included in a
mentoring intervention felt safe, respected, and cared about each other, as indicated by
their responses to strong agreement and agreement on survey questions specific to those
areas. Also, like the teacher perception data for the therapy dog intervention, students
included in the mentoring intervention had fewer positive relationships in terms of
conflict and mean behaviors as opposed to other reported areas.
The variance between the initial survey results in September and the end of the
research study survey results in April was minimal. Figures 18, 19, 20, and 21 depict

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data about positive relationship trends between mentors and school climate according to
teacher perceptions. Data showed that a small percentage of teachers, as indicated in
Figures 22, 23, and 24, felt that students displayed mean behaviors or engaged in
conflict, both questions which lend themselves to a negative school culture. Figures 22
and 23 represent data that shows a slightly negative relationship between mentoring and
teacher perceptions of school climate, specific to reactions when provoked and conflict.
The data indicated that teachers from both intervention groups felt that students were
easily provoked and would participate in conflict. There was no consistent variable
among groups that indicated a reason for the negative perceptions in these categories,
especially as respect and safety showed a strong positive relationship for the mentoring
intervention group.
Figure 18
Mentoring Teacher Perception Data: Respect Each Other

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Figure 19
Mentoring Teacher Perception Data: Treat Me with Respect

Figure 20
Mentoring Teacher Perception Data: Students Feel

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Figure 21
Mentoring Teacher Perception Data: Attend School Regularly

Figure 22
Mentoring Teacher Perception Survey: Rash Reactions

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Figure 23
Mentoring Teacher Perception Survey: Students’ Arguments

Figure 24
Mentoring Teacher Perception Survey: Students Look Out for Selves

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Summary of the Relationship Between Teacher Perceptions of School Climate and
Mentoring or Therapy Dog Interventions
Multiple themes were present in the teacher perceptions of school climate data for
mentoring and therapy dog interventions. Many questions resulted in data that did not
change from initial survey responses in September to the end results in April. These
responses indicated that students did not feel threatened or bullied, felt safe in school,
and overall treated each other and their teacher with respect, which can be attributed to a
positive school culture for students participating in mentoring and therapy dog
interventions. Teachers also indicated that students have friends, with 100% agreeing or
strongly agreeing with the statement. Teachers reported that students in both mentoring
and therapy dog interventions attended school regularly. This data is supported by the
quantitative data in Figure 7 and Figure 8, which shows a 93% attendance rate for all
fifth and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School and a
94% attendance rate in both the therapy dog and mentoring intervention groups.
While the majority of data for Mentoring and Therapy Dog interventions showed
a positive relationship, there was some indication that students did not get along well or
would react quickly when provoked, as evidenced by the teacher's perception of the
school culture survey. They also argued with each other at times, but again, this was not
prevalent. The data, although not as positive as the student perception of school culture
data or the trend in office discipline referrals and threat and risk assessments, did not
depict a negative overall relationship between the intervention and teacher perceptions of
school climate.

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Discussion
Analyzing school climate data from student perspectives, teacher perspectives,
and quantitative data related to student behavior trends at Penns Valley Elementary and
Intermediate School created an overarching theme of positive school climate. In all the
data analyzed, there were insignificant differences in the extent of the positive
relationship between the therapy dog and mentoring interventions and school climate.
However, both showed strong positive relationships, making the case that traumainformed interventions positively impact student and teacher perceptions of school
climate.
Office Discipline Referral data for the 2021-2022 school year through the 20232024 school year was collected and analyzed. The percentage of Office Discipline
Referrals from the 2022-2024 school year to the 2023-2024 school year with its
implementation of trauma-informed interventions was 53%. The decrease for each type
of intervention, mentoring or therapy dog, was similar. An analysis of the number of
independent students contributing to the Office Discipline Referrals was also analyzed. It
was determined that two students, one included in each intervention, contributed to
approximately half of the referrals that were made. In addition to the class-wide traumainformed interventions, both of these students had behavior intervention plans in place.
This is an important factor considering the significant decrease in office discipline
referrals that exists from the 2022-2023 school year to the 2023-2024 school year. It
indicates that if data from the two aforementioned students had been removed, the
number of office discipline referrals would have decreased even more significantly. It is
also important to note that these students contributed the majority of office discipline

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referrals despite specific and individualized behavior plans targeted to reduce identified
behaviors. This indicates that a less targeted and individualized intervention, such as
mentoring or therapy dog, was not appropriate to the needs of these students as a
standalone intervention and would likely not have shown positive rates of improvement
for the behaviors of these two individuals.
Threat Assessment Data from the 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024 school
years was analyzed. Threat and risk assessments were conducted when students posed a
threat to themselves or others, thereby indicating a negative perception of school culture.
Risk assessment data was analyzed for the 2022-2023 school year and the 2023-2024
school year. During the implementation of therapy dog and mentoring interventions,
which occurred from September 2023 through April 2024, threat assessments at Penns
Valley Elementary and Intermediate School for fifth and sixth-grade students decreased
by 75%. Risk Assessments completed between September 2023 and April 2024
decreased by 30%. While not a significant decrease in mentoring versus therapy dog
interventions, the overall decrease was significant and shows a strong positive
relationship between the interventions and improved student perceptions of school
climate through a 75% decrease in threat assessments and a 30% decrease in risk
assessments.
Attendance data was the only data set that showed little change, positive or
negative, from data collected during the research study to previous years. For example,
the attendance rate from the 2022-2023 school year to the 2023-2024 school year
increased by .5%. Attendance at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School for

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fifth and sixth-grade students has remained high, at approximately 93%, between the
2020-2021 and 2023-2024 school years.
Student data from a School Culture and Climate Survey historically given by
Penns Valley Area School District four times yearly also showed a positive relationship
between trauma-informed interventions and student perception of school climate. The
areas that increased most significantly were student perceptions that they liked school,
had good friends, and felt safe. While not by a large interval, student perceptions of
school climate of the students participating in the therapy dog intervention were higher in
the feeling of being safe and that the principal cares for them. At the same time,
mentoring was higher in the feeling of being recognized for good work and respected by
peers. The data overall indicated a positive relationship in both mentoring and therapy
dog interventions toward students' perceptions of school climate, as over 90% of students
responded positively to questions about safety, respect, and care.
The survey assessing teacher perceptions of school climate was analyzed
separately for mentoring and therapy dog intervention groups. While small variances in
the data existed from one intervention to the other, the trends in the data were similar.
Overall, the common themes across the student perceptions of school climate data and
the teacher perceptions of school climate data suggested that both the mentoring and
therapy dog interventions were effective in fostering a safe and respectful classroom
environment, as teacher perception data indicated that all participating teachers agreed or
strongly agreed that students felt safe and were respectful. Students generally felt safe,
respected their teachers and peers, and attended school regularly. The teacher perception
data related to the attendance rate was supported by quantitative attendance data, which

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revealed a 93% attendance rate for students who participated in the mentoring and
therapy dog programs. There were minor issues with conflicts and mean behaviors, but
these were not predominant. The therapy dog intervention appeared slightly more
effective in minimizing conflicts and promoting a caring atmosphere, but not to a level
that proved a more significant relationship between one intervention and school climate
over the other.
Summary
Since the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, the need for increasing mental health
support in public school systems has become evident. This research study examined the
effects of two trauma-informed interventions, mentoring and therapy dogs, on student
and teacher perceptions of school climate. The data reflected a positive relationship
between the two interventions and perceptions of school climate across multiple
quantitative and qualitative data sources. The data presented showed decreases in threat
assessments, risk assessments, and office discipline referrals in classrooms participating
in trauma-informed interventions for the 2023-2024 school year. In some cases, the
percentages were significant, with decreases in behavior referrals of over 53%.
Chapter IV has provided a detailed analysis of the findings related to school
climate and the implementation of two trauma-informed interventions. This analysis has
reviewed the data from a combined look at trauma-informed interventions implemented
as well as parsed the data into each separate intervention. In Chapter V, conclusions will
be offered regarding the implementation of mentoring and therapy dog interventions in
public school classrooms. The information in Chapter V will explore the limitations of
the study and use insight from the analysis of data and reflection on limitations for

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recommend actions toward further research of trauma-informed interventions in the
public school system.

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Chapter V
Conclusions and Recommendations
This research project was designed to understand the relationship between two
specific trauma-informed interventions and student and teacher perceptions of school
climate. The need for this research exists because public school districts are increasingly
considering the mental health needs of their students to help them grow academically. It
is therefore important to determine if academic experiences focusing on supporting
mental health needs will help strengthen a positive school climate. This mixed-methods
study analyzed a variety of data to examine the effect of trauma-informed interventions
in fifth and sixth-grade classrooms in terms of student perceptions of school climate. It
also examined teacher perceptions of school climate at multiple points throughout the
implementation of two trauma-informed interventions included in the study. This chapter
includes a summary of the results of the research study as well as conclusions related to
each research question listed below.
Research Questions
1. What is the relationship between students’ perceptions of school climate
and the presence of a class-wide therapy dog as measured by student
behavioral office referrals, Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat
and Risk Assessments, school attendance, and the Penns Valley Area
School District School Culture Survey during the 2023-2024 school year?
2. What is the relationship between students’ perceptions of school climate
and the use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring program as
measured by behavior, Penns Valley Area School District’s Threat and

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Risk Assessments, school attendance, and Penns Valley Area School
District School Culture and Climate survey during the 2023-2024 school
year?
3. What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school climate
and the use of a class-wide therapy dog as measured by a teacher
perception survey?
4. What is the relationship between teacher perceptions of school climate
and the use of a class-wide teacher-student mentoring program as
measured by a teacher perception survey?
Conclusions
Research Question 1
The first research question explored the relationship between a classroom therapy
dog and student perceptions of school climate. The analysis for this question included
qualitative and quantitative data on attendance, behavior, threat assessments, risk
assessments, and student perception surveys. The data collected spanned the school years
2021-2022 through 2023-2024 for fifth and sixth-grade students at the Penns Valley
Elementary and Intermediate School.
According to data analysis, there was a positive effect between the
implementation of a therapy dog as a trauma-informed classroom intervention and
student perceptions of school climate. Quantitative data supported this claim across
several measures. The first measure, office discipline referrals, showed a 53% decrease
overall in office discipline referrals from the 2022-2023 school year. Of the office
discipline referrals that were made, only 18 of them were by students participating in the

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therapy dog intervention. These 18 referrals account for 41% of the total number of
office discipline referrals collected. The data showed that not only was the number of
office discipline referrals reduced by over half in the 2023-2024 school year with the
implementation of trauma-informed interventions but students who participated in the
therapy dog intervention accounted for less than half of the 53% of students referred to
the school office for behavioral infractions occurring in the classroom.
Threat assessment data also supported the conclusion that there is a positive
relationship between therapy dog interventions and positive student perceptions of school
climate. There was a 75% decrease in the number of threat assessments performed for
fifth and sixth-grade students at the Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School
from the 2022-2023 school year to the 2023-2024 school year. The threat assessments
that were performed were for students participating in the therapy dog intervention but
the aggregate number of assessments were significantly decreased from the previous
school year, where implementation of a therapy dog intervention was not in place. Threat
assessments are performed when a student makes a statement or action that infers harm
to another individual. The decrease in threat assessments with the use of a therapy dog
intervention can be interpreted as improved peer relationships for students participating
in the intervention.
Risk assessment data was also collected for the study. Similar to threat
assessments in terms of the intent of harm, risk assessments are performed when a
student uses words or actions to show an intent to harm oneself. While not as significant
of a decrease as threat assessments, risk assessments did decrease by 30% from the 20222023 school year to the 2023-2024 school year. Further dissection of this data showed

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that 60% of the risk assessments completed for the 2023-2024 school year were by
students who participated in the therapy dog intervention.
The 30% decrease in overall risk assessments, as well as the data which showed
that over half of those risk assessments belonged to students participating in the therapy
dog intervention, support the conclusion that the therapy dog interventions had a positive
impact on student perceptions of school culture. This is especially true for feelings of
safety and belonging, which are identified on the risk assessment screener as safety
factors that decrease the likelihood of follow-through of self-harm ideations.
Attendance data collected from the 2020-2021 school year through the 2023-2024
school year did not affect school climate based on the therapy dog intervention. An
intervening variable is student attendance at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate
School for fifth and sixth-grade students was above the state average in all collected
years and over a 90% average for all collected years. The difference between attendance
for students participating in the therapy dog intervention and the mentoring intervention
compared with previous years was statistically insignificant.
Students at the Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School complete the
district-created School Culture and Climate Survey four surveys quarterly each year. The
School Culture and Climate survey has been administered for over 12 years with minimal
changes to answer stems and question prompts. Therefore, there was a multitude of data
available for use when analyzing trends in school climate and making conclusions
regarding the effect of therapy dogs on student perceptions of school climate. The data
collected for the 2023-2024 school year was compared with data from the 2021-2022
school year and the 2022-2023 school year (See Figure 9). The data showed positive

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increases in student perception of school climate as measured by questions related to
student safety at school, a sense of belonging when at school, feelings of being cared
about by staff, feelings of being recognized for good work, having good friends, feeling
respected at school, and liking school. Furthermore, students who participated in the
therapy dog intervention had more positive results than those students participating in the
mentoring intervention in the following areas: Feelings of safety, feeling cared about by
their principal and having good friends (See Figure 10). The survey questions related to
the feelings of safety and having good friends could be attributed to the discussions
students had with peers and the class teacher during therapy dog sessions, given the
discussion topics utilized by teachers. While topics varied from group to group, teachers
centered the discussion around building knowledge about classmates and finding
commonalities among them.
Research Question 2
The second research question used the same data sources as Research Question 1,
which were attendance, office discipline referral, threat assessment, risk assessment, and
School Culture and Climate survey data. However, the second research question focused
on the effects of the mentoring intervention on student perceptions of school climate in
place of the therapy dog intervention data. The trauma-informed mentoring intervention,
which followed a structured format and was tailored to individual student needs, was
implemented one-on-one between the trained mentor and the student. Mentors followed a
structured procedure for the intervention, which varied only in discussion follow-up
based on student responses. As in question one, office discipline referral, threat
assessment, risk assessment, attendance, and student perception survey data were

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analyzed to determine the effect of the mentoring intervention on student perceptions of
school climate.
As previously stated for Research Question 1, office discipline referrals for fifth
and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley Intermediate School decreased 53% from the
2022-2023 school year to the 2023-2024 school year. All students represented in this data
participated in either the therapy dog or mentoring dog intervention. Therefore, it can be
concluded that the introduction of the trauma-informed interventions of therapy dogs and
mentoring positively affected student behavior. Specifically, students participating in a
mentoring intervention accounted for 56% of the students contributing to the office
discipline referrals for fifth and sixth-grade students in the 2023-2024 school year. While
this percentage is not as low as students with office discipline referrals who participated
in the therapy dog intervention, the overall significant drop in referrals showed that a
positive relationship existed between the mentoring intervention and positive school
climate when viewed through the lens of student behavior.
Threat assessments also significantly decreased, a 75% drop, with the
implementation of the trauma-informed interventions of therapy dog and mentoring
during the 2023-2024 school year. Students participating in a mentoring intervention
contributed to zero threat assessments in the 2023-2024 school year. Mentoring is
structured around students having one-on-one support from an adult that they have built a
trusting relationship with through relationship-building during the mentoring process.
This study concludes that students who participated in mentoring every other week for a
20-minute session were provided with a needed outlet to discuss peer relationship issues

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such as disagreements and friendship controversies and brainstorm non-threatening
solutions to potential issues, decreasing the need for threat assessments.
Risk assessments also decreased from the 2022-2023 school year to the 20232024 school year, a 30% decrease from the previous year. Students who participated in
the mentoring intervention accounted for 40% of the risk assessments completed for fifth
and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School during the
2023-2024 school year. It is important to note that while the teachers who provide
mentoring interventions are trained in trauma-informed care for students each school
year, they are not certified counselors. Mentors have the opportunity to provide students
with a safe space to discuss feelings but are not trained to counsel students regarding selfharming behavior. The number of risk assessments decreased for students participating in
a mentoring intervention, exclusive of therapy dog interventions. This showed that
protective factors such as a feeling of belonging at school and having adults who care
about you were likely being met for these students. This conclusion is further
demonstrated by the student school climate and culture survey data discussed in the
following paragraph.
The overall positive increases in data for the student school climate and culture
survey were present in all categories except “My principal cares about me.” While there
was positive growth in this area for students participating in the therapy dog intervention,
the mentoring intervention did not show growth in this area. While mentoring is focused
on a one-to-one relationship between a mentor and student. The therapy dog intervention
involved discussions with a whole class of students, creating an environment allowing
multiple perspectives.

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Questions in several participating classrooms focused on caring adults in
students’ lives. This could be an intervening variable in the data. However, several other
questions showed a higher increase for students participating in the mentoring
intervention than in the therapy dog intervention. These categories included a feeling of
belonging in school, a feeling that the teacher cares about them, recognition for good
work, and a feeling of being respected by peers. The positive increase in the feeling that a
teacher cared about the student showed that teachers who participated as mentors could
create a trusting and caring relationship with the students they mentored, which
contributed to an overall positive relationship between mentoring and student perceptions
of school climate. The positive increase in students being recognized for good work also
showed that mentors effectively supported students academically during mentoring
sessions. Mentors reviewed test scores, quizzes, overall grades, and academic
information with students every other week and then set goals for future progress. This
support allowed space for the recognition of not only what students did well but also the
growth they made academically over the implementation of the mentoring intervention.
Historically, at Penns Valley Area School District, student responses about
feeling recognized for good work have fallen below percentages in other areas. The
district has had a goal in place for the last three years to support growth in this area.
Mentoring of fifth and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate
School supported progress toward this goal for the 2023-2024 school year. Although
Research Question 2 specifically focused on these areas and the fact that they were
higher for students who participated in a mentoring intervention than students who
participated in a therapy dog intervention, it must be recognized that the combined data

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for mentoring and therapy dog interventions showed positive increases in all survey
questions except “my principal cares about me,” which was higher than the previous
years by 1.5% for therapy dog intervention students but not mentoring intervention
students, which dropped from the previous year in this category by 4%.
Research Question 3
Research Question 3 explored the relationship between a therapy dog intervention
and teacher perceptions of school climate. The teacher participant survey asked similar
questions to those of the school climate and culture survey data collected from Penns
Valley Area School District. Data was collected separately for those teachers with
students who participated in the therapy dog intervention and those who participated in
the mentoring intervention.
The teacher perception of school climate survey data was overall positive for all
questions asked and analyzed. Several of the questions did not show a variance in
responses from the initial survey given to teacher participants in September and the final
survey given to the same group of participants in April. The analysis of these questions
showed that teachers did not perceive students to feel bullied or threatened throughout
the school year. Teacher perceptions also indicated that students felt safe in school, and
they had a high rate of attendance. Both of these areas were also supported by the student
perception of school climate and culture survey results. Although supported across
multiple measures and positive indicators for school climate at Penns Valley Elementary
and Intermediate School, the fact that results did not vary during the implementation of
the therapy dog and the mentoring interventions diminishes their relevance when

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considering the relationship of the interventions to teacher perceptions of school
climate.
Several survey questions showed positive increases from the initial survey given
at the start of the therapy dog intervention in September 2023 to the final survey given at
the conclusion of the therapy dog intervention in April 2024. These questions were
related to students’ respect for each other, students’ respect for the teacher, and students’
overall feeling of safety in the classroom. The data regarding increases in student safety
correlates with the positive student perceptions of school climate survey results which
indicate that students also feel safe in the classroom. The teacher perception of school
climate data, which indicated that students respected each other and the teacher, was also
consistent with the student perceptions of school climate data for students who
participated in the therapy dog intervention, which indicated that they felt respected by
peers and by their teacher. Based on data specific to respect and safety, the addition of a
therapy dog intervention had a positive effect on teacher perceptions of school climate.
Several questions were asked in the teacher perceptions of school climate survey,
which had slightly negative results from the initial survey in September 2023 to the final
survey in April 2024. The questions that had a slightly negative trend indicated that
students reacted quickly when provoked, students argued when they disagreed, and
students only looked out for themselves. It must be noted that although a negative trend,
all initial survey responses in these categories were positive. For the final survey, one
participant for each question answered negatively. Although negative, few responses
were responsible for the decline. Overall, survey results in these areas moved from a
slight positive to a strong positive relationship, as evidenced by the growth in the

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majority of teacher perceptions of school climate questions from the initial therapy dog
implementation to the final survey.
Research Question 4
The relationship between school climate and a mentoring intervention in
Research Question 4 through analysis of Teacher Perception of School Climate
questions. The questions that asked if teachers felt that students were bullied, if students
felt safe in school, and if students attended school regularly were all positive from the
initial survey given in September 2023 at the beginning of the implementation of
mentoring to the final survey given in April of 2024 at the end of the implementation of
the mentoring intervention. The lack of a positive or negative change in data over the
course of the implementation of the mentoring intervention shows a lack of evidence that
attendance, safety in school, and the perception that students are bullied in school were
affected by a mentoring intervention.
Two questions on the Teacher Perception of School Climate survey increased in
positive results from the initial survey in September 2023 to the final survey in April
2024. These questions asked if students treated each other with respect and if they felt
safe in the classroom. The positive results on the survey questions regarding students
feeling safe in the classroom and students treating each other with respect led to the
conclusion that mentoring had a positive impact on teacher perceptions of student safety
and respect. The teacher perception data regarding students treating each other with
respect and feeling safe in school was supported by student perception data, which also
indicated a positive increase from the initial to the final survey. Therefore, a positive

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relationship could be formed between mentoring and teacher perception of school climate
in terms of safety and respect.
Three questions, whether students were provoked easily, whether they treated the
teacher with respect, and whether they argued when they disagreed, were asked on the
teacher perception survey. Data showed a negative relationship between mentoring and
school climate by presenting a 20% increase in teachers who felt that students were
provoked easily and argued when they disagreed. For the question that asked if students
treated the teacher with respect, 20% of teachers moved from the “strongly agree”
category to the “agree” category from the initial to the final survey. The decrease in
teacher perceptions of student respect is unexpected because the student perception was
that they were treated with respect by teachers and peers, as evidenced by data related to
feeling respected on the School Climate and Culture Survey. Yet, teacher perception
results indicated a lack of respect for their teacher. Despite the negative relationship
determined by the 20% decrease in data that was indicated by these questions, overall
results of the teacher perception of school culture data show positive relationships
between a mentoring intervention and school climate.
Application of Conclusions
The mentoring and therapy dog interventions contributed to positive relationships
between teacher perceptions of school climate and student perceptions of school climate.
Analysis of the data separated by mentoring and therapy dog intervention groups showed
strengths in different areas, such as respect for teachers in therapy dog data and feelings
of safety in the classroom in mentoring data. Both interventions positively affected
school climate. While other trauma-informed interventions exist and may be beneficial

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for students, therapy dog and mentoring interventions were shown to create positive
increases in student perception of school climate data and teacher perception of school
climate data to be effective in increasing school climate for fifth and sixth-grade students
at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School during the 2023-2024 school year.
Given the effectiveness of therapy dog and mentoring interventions, the
continuation of both interventions for the 2024-2025 school year and into future years if
possible is recommended. Both interventions had merits due to positive growth in student
perceptions of school climate and teacher perceptions of school climate data, and
therefore, it would be beneficial to create a schedule that allowed for therapy dog and
mentoring interventions to occur simultaneously for students. While the therapy dog
intervention provided a space for students to learn about each other and bond as a class,
the mentoring intervention gave students space to discuss personal topics privately while
also receiving academic guidance and support. The implementation of both types of
support would give students the most opportunity for a sense of belonging and feeling
that they are cared for at school. Ultimately, the co-implementation of these interventions
could achieve an even greater effect on positive perceptions of school climate by both
students and teachers.
While both interventions were successful overall, the data clearly showed that
some participants and students were more positively affected than others. In order to
effectively implement both interventions, the district should schedule meetings with
interested participants and students to determine what parts of each intervention worked
well for them and areas that could be improved. Based on this information, the district

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could further refine procedures for each intervention and schedule training sessions for
future participants.
For example, during the implementation of the therapy dog intervention, one
classroom invited students to enter topics for discussion each session and then chose the
discussion topic randomly from the jar of topics. In contrast, another therapy dog
classroom chose topics through a teacher-directed method based on needs that the teacher
saw as potential social issues during instructional time. It would be beneficial to
determine how each teacher viewed their process for determining topics, as well as if
students preferred the idea of one method over the other. Teachers in the mentoring
group also handled the makeup of absences differently. Each teacher had unique methods
for making up missed sessions and ensuring all students had access to mentoring. Some
methods included make-up sessions during study hall time, while others would pull
students from lunch or pull two students who needed make-up sessions at one time. It
would be advantageous to determine which method most effectively allowed all students
to meet with mentors on time.
For this research study, the mentoring and therapy dog interventions were limited
to fifth and sixth-grade students at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School.
Given the positive relationship between the researched interventions and school climate,
the district could consider expanding the interventions to the kindergarten through fourthgrade classrooms at Penns Valley Elementary and Intermediate School. This would,
however, create the need for careful planning of mentoring and therapy dog resources to
account for the increased number of students participating in the interventions. If
protocols for lower grade levels were implemented and exhibited positive results, the

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district could move the implementation of therapy dog and mentoring interventions to
other buildings and grade levels. It must be taken into consideration that the
appropriateness of each intervention and the procedure for implementation that would be
most beneficial for students would vary depending on grade level and student needs, such
as a Kindergarten protocol for a mentoring intervention versus a sixth-grade protocol for
a mentoring intervention. The amount of time spent in the mentoring lesson would need
to decrease for the kindergarten protocol, as the attention span of a kindergarten student
is shorter than that of a sixth-grade student. The topics discussed and questions asked
would also need to be considered for these age groups as relationships with peers and
academic expectations greatly differ.
Mentoring is an intervention that can be easily applied with training and very few
resources. However, a therapy dog and handler must be available consistently to
implement a therapy dog intervention. Schools could consider multiple options for
ensuring the presence of a therapy dog. The most cost-effective option is to find a local
therapy dog handler willing to donate time to the school. While this requires flexibility
on the school district's part to schedule around the handler’s availability and provide
alternative schedules for make-up sessions, it ultimately can be successful, as
demonstrated in this research study.
Limitations
There were several limitations to this research study that must be considered
when reviewing the analysis of results and implications for future use of the therapy dog
and mentoring interventions. First, the size of the participant group was small. Although
data was inclusive of all fifth and sixth-grade students in the district, there were still less

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than 200 students contributing to office discipline referral, threat assessment, risk
assessment, attendance, and school climate and culture survey data. These numbers are
typical of fifth and sixth-grade class sizes over the past several years, and therefore, data
was able to be compared with previous years. However, the methodology of this study
did not lend itself to a large sample of students in each intervention group.
The number of participants was also a limitation of this study. Each grade level of
fifth and sixth-grade students was separated into five homerooms. Although all staff
members who worked with fifth and sixth-grade teachers were invited to fill out the
teacher perception surveys, only those teachers with homerooms chose to do so, limiting
the responses to 10 participants. When independently analyzing the mentoring and
therapy dog intervention data, this number was split in half. Five participants in a group
allowed for a large shift in results when one participant’s responses. A small group of
participants also allowed for specific classroom characteristics, such as a higher number
of new teachers with less structure, to potentially affect the data as well. In future
research, it would be beneficial to have a larger sample size of students and participants
so that data is not easily skewed and more accurately reflects the findings of all
participants.
In addition to sample size, variance in historical data was a limitation when
analyzing trends over time. The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 caused attendance and
behavior data to be skewed for at least a two-year period. Students were sent home for
school closures in March of 2020 and sporadically during the 2020-2021 school year. At
that time, online synchronous learning was occurring at Penns Valley Area School
District. Students were considered present in school if they participated online, and

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therefore, attendance was at the highest rate it had been in years. This same issue
occurred with office discipline referrals. The 2019-2020 school year ended in March for
in-person learning. There were a large number of students attending school online in the
2020-2021 school year. Therefore, office discipline referrals were far below the
historically average numbers for those school years. Comparison of data could not really
accurately reflect a trend unless it started in the 2021-2022 school year. This allowed for
only three years of data to analyze trends and draw conclusions. Although not due to the
COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, risk assessment data was not tracked at Penns Valley Area
School District until the 2021-2022 school year. Therefore, only a two-year sample of
data could be analyzed. This made drawing conclusions about the effect of the mentoring
and therapy dog interventions less definitive.
Finally, although the mentoring intervention followed a specifically timed and
structured format, the therapy dog intervention had less structure. Each teacher managed
the intervention differently within the provided guidelines, which may have affected the
intervention results for each group. Moving forward, as suggested above in protocol
changes to attendance and discussion topics, more guidance and structure should be
added to this intervention to ensure that all students have access to an effective
intervention.
Recommendations for Future Research
With the ongoing and increasing concerns over mental health for students and
staff in public education, the conclusion of positive relationships from the
implementation of mentoring and therapy dog interventions highlighted the need for
further exploration of trauma-informed interventions that can help support these growing

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needs and foster a positive school climate for students and staff. The mentoring and
therapy dog interventions positively affected student and teacher perceptions of school
climate as determined by survey results, attendance records, office discipline referral
reports, threat assessments, and risk assessment records. The fact that all these areas were
positively impacted shows the benefits of structured, systematic implementation of these
interventions.
It would be beneficial to continue the research of therapy dog and mentoring
interventions with a larger sample size. If researched in a nearby district of similar size
and demographics, there would be similar data for comparison and a more reliable pool
for determining effectiveness. If the interventions positively affect student and teacher
perception of school climate, more urban and suburban districts with diverse
demographics should be studied.
Furthermore, it is important to consider the wide range of interventions available
to school districts. Prior to the adoption of specific interventions, research should explore
the effects of each intervention on factors that contribute to student and teacher
perceptions of school climate. Mentoring is time-consuming in human resources that
would be difficult to acquire for many school districts. Therapy dogs with handlers who
volunteer time and have consistent schedules can be difficult to find. Research of various
trauma-informed interventions would create a more diverse pool of options for districts
so that they can implement interventions that work well in their districts and effectively
support their students.

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Summary
This research study has explored the relationship between the trauma-informed
interventions of therapy dogs and mentoring and student and teacher perceptions of
school climate. Its aim was to address the increasing mental health needs in public
education and determine if the systematic implementation of intervention strategies could
positively support these needs. The findings indicate that there is a positive relationship
between therapy dog and mentoring interventions and the perceptions of a positive
school climate among students and teachers.
These findings have significant implications for school districts that are
struggling to support the growing mental health and behavioral needs of students in terms
of cost-effective interventions that can be implemented without the purchase of materials
or the addition of staff. However, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of this
study, such as a small sample size and shallow depth of historical data for which to
analyze trends, which suggest caution when generalizing these conclusions.
Further research could build on these findings by duplicating the study in school
districts with similar demographics at first, and then expanding into a more diverse
setting and population within school districts. The research should also explore the
relationship of other trauma-informed interventions and perceptions of school climate to
allow for a larger pool of effective options that can be chosen based on specific district
needs and accessibility to resources. Ultimately, this research contributes to the ongoing
discourse of services and supports in public education that will help to meet the growing
needs of the student population, offering a foundation for future inquiries and practical
applications in trauma-informed interventions.

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APPENDICES

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TRAUMA-INFORMED SCHOOL-BASED STRATEGIES

Appendix A
IRB Approval

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Appendix B
Student Perception Survey

This questionnaire is designed to help us better understand if student perceptions of school climate are
affected by a mentoring program or therapy dog intervention. Your answers are confidential and
anonymous. You are not obligated to complete the survey and can stop the survey at any time. By
submitting this survey, you are consenting to be a part of the research study.
Demographics
1.

What is your grade?
❑ Fifth
❑ Sixth

2.

What intervention program is being utilized with your students?
❑ Therapy Dog
❑ Mentoring Program

Survey Questions
Please answer each question on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being “strongly disagree” and 5 strongly agree..”

1.

Students in my class often feel
threatened.

2.

Students in my class are often bullied
because of certain characteristics (for
example race, religion, weight, sexual
orientation)

3.

Students feel safe in my classroom.

4.

My students treat me with respect.

5.

My students treat each other with
respect.

6.

Students in my class care about each
other.

7.

Students in my class have friends.

Strong
Disagree

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

Strongly
Agree

1

2

3

4

5

TRAUMA-INFORMED SCHOOL-BASED STRATEGIES

8.

Students in my class don’t get along
well with each other.

9.

Students in my class only look out for
themselves.

10. Students in my class do not react
quickly or rashly when provoked.
10. Students in my class get in arguments
with each other when they don’t agree.
11. Students in my class say mean things
to other students.
12. Students in my class like to make fun
of each other.
13. Students in my class attend school
regularly.

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Appendix C
Therapy Dog Letter
August 31, 2023
Dear Penns Valley Intermediate Families,
We are excited to share with you that a new “staff” member will be joining us this fall.
We will be welcoming Blaize to our school as a Certified Therapy Dog. Blaize is a
patient and sweet Golden Retriever who loves everyone he meets! He has been serving as
a therapy dog for five months and is well-loved in his therapy dog role at Lock Haven
University. He will be joining us a couple times each month as we pilot the
implementation of this type of program in our district. Once we are established, our hope
is to expand Blaize’s presence into the other buildings as well. Below, we have listed
some benefits of therapy dogs in schools and addressed potential concerns.
What are the benefits of therapy dogs in schools?
Evidence indicates that benefits include:
● Cognitive- companionship with a dog stimulates memory, problem-solving and
game playing.
● Social- a dog provides a positive mutual topic for discussion, encourages
responsibility, wellbeing, and focused interaction with others.
● Emotional- school dogs improve self-esteem, acceptance from others and lifts
mood, often provoking laughter and fun.
● Dogs can also teach compassion and respect for other living things as well as
relieving anxiety.
● Physical- interaction with a furry friend reduces blood pressure, provides tactile
stimulation, assists with pain management, gives motivation to move, walk and
stimulates the senses.
● Reading- reading to dogs has been proven to help children develop literacy skills
and build confidence, through both the calming effect the dog’s presence has on
children as well as the fact that a dog will listen to children read without being
judgmental or critical. This comforting environment helps to nurture children’s
enthusiasm for reading and provides them with the confidence to read aloud.
Some challenges to consider:
● My child is allergic to dogs It is understandable that some of you may be concerned about possible allergic
reactions to a dog in the building. However, Blaize has been and will be subjected

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to thorough cleanliness and grooming standards as part of the requirements of his
certifying organization, Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD). He will also only be
allowed in situations with pupils who voluntarily wish to work with him. He will
work with students in one on one or small group capacities, in specified areas, so
the possible spread of dander is limited throughout the building. If you would
like to request that your student does not work with Blaize, please contact the
main office and let us know so that we can make the appropriate
accommodations.
● My child is scared of dogs Some children may have had upsetting experiences and thus have a fear of dogs
(or other animals). Blaize will only be in contact with children that want to work
with him. He has been observed and certified by an ATD trainer/observer to
remain calm and be gentle around children, adults, and individuals with
disabilities. He is constantly supervised by his handler and is under her control in
all therapy settings. Experience and research has shown that with proper guidance
and handling, children can learn to overcome their fear of animals and grow in
respect and appreciation for them. If for any reason you would like to opt your
student out of the therapy dog program, please contact the school and we will add
them to our no contact list.
● Does this therapy dog have the appropriate vaccinations?
The district has a copy of Blaize’s vaccinations. A local veterinarian will have
reviewed
the vaccinations prior to his starting and verified that Blaize is up to date on all
necessary vaccinations.
We hope you will join us in welcoming Blaize to the Penns Valley
Elementary/Intermediate School. If you have any concerns regarding his presence around
your child, please email me at sreeder@pennsvalley.org.
Thank you,

Shannon Reeder
PVEI Principal
814-422-2002
sreeder@pennsvalley.org

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Appendix D
Penns Valley Area School District's Student School Culture and Climate Survey
Students rate each item on a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being “never” and 5 being “always.”
Never Rarely Some- Often Always
times
1
1. I feel I belong in this school.
2. I am safe at school.
3. My teacher cares about me.
4. My principal cares about me.
5. I have good friends at school.
6. I like this school.
7. Students treat each other well.
8. I am recognized for good work.

2

3

4

5