Keswick School is honored to announce the newest staff member to our school community, Tally, a facility assistance dog. Continuing a 14-year partnership, the school has been awarded the opportunity to receive a facility dog through Canine Companions (CC). It is truly a privilege to be selected to receive the facility dog, as these animals are the product of years of training and are given to the school free of charge. During an intensive two-week training program, Tally was matched with the school and her handler and member of the residential leadership team, Adam Cieszkiewicz.
Reflecting on the value Tally brings to the Keswick community, Adam said, "Much of the work here consists of equipping students for relationships, and for many of them, that process is not easy. A skilled facility dog takes some of the essential ingredients of relationship--communication, play, positive regard, reciprocity--and makes them almost singularly accessible, and at a time away from home when boys need them most. A facility dog isn't essential to any one task at Keswick, but they're a great adjunct to pretty much all of them. When a student takes a risk in his "stretch zone," when he's feeling high or low, when he needs to experience some care and affection or have a friend to play with, a dog is a great tool to have nearby."
Tally will be a huge program asset and benefit the students in countless ways. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of therapy dogs for students in particular. Tally will play a role in helping them build healthy attachments, increase verbal interactions, develop leisure/recreation skills, boost self-esteem, decrease anxiety, reduce loneliness, and improve attention skills. These benefits directly complement the social-emotional curriculum objectives that focus on students’ executive functioning, competence, cooperation, and social/relationship skills. Tally will spend most of her time working during the residential day, attending dorm meetings and activities, and helping during evening routines and downtime in the dorm.
About Keswick School
Keswick School is a nationally recognized therapeutic boarding school in Keswick, Virginia, just outside Charlottesville, Virginia. We have been serving boys ages 9-18 with complex social-emotional, learning, developmental, and emotional challenges for over 60 years. We are accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Specialized Education Facilities and licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia Board of Education and the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. We are a member of the Small Boarding School Association.