DeWitt Middle School introduces therapy dog 'Skye'; superintendent highlights student achievements

Becky Manika, DeWitt Middle School principal, introduced Skye, a half‑year‑old goldendoodle serving as a facility/therapy dog at the middle school. Manika described how teachers can "check her out," students may escort Skye through the building and how the dog participates in classroom activities that support student responsibility and engagement.

"They've done an amazing job, like, embracing her," Manika said, adding that Skye typically is in the building five to six hours a day and that staff were trained to work with the dog. Manika said the school reached out to parents about allergies and reported no concerns returned during the initial rollout.

Superintendent Kevin Robida reported on end‑of‑semester timing, extracurriculars and student success stories. He told the board that choir groups earned top performance scores at a regional competition and will advance to state competition in April. Robida also noted mentorship activities linking high‑school mentors with Harvison Woods Elementary and Chewy Road Road Elementary and reported roughly 80 middle‑school students participating in mentorship supports.

On the consent agenda the board approved the hiring of Madison McKee as a special education teacher and approved out‑of‑state travel for DeWitt High School varsity baseball to Florida and for student leaders to attend a state leadership conference in Lansing. The board welcomed Madison McKee during the meeting.

The presentations and consent approvals were routine items on the board’s agenda; follow‑up on the therapy dog program and mentorship activities was not scheduled in detail during the meeting.