Naming and painting the bus was just
the beginning. Convincing any school board to add something new to its curriculum can be daunting. Time is a premium for school staff, and change can be a tough mountain to climb. Bruce’s presentation impressed the members of the Marion County School Board, who gave their blessing for the shelter to proceed with the caveat that an actual curriculum would need to be devel- oped and approved. More moti-
vated and serious about the endeav- or than ever, Bruce hired Erin Garri in June 2018. With a bachelor’s degree in animal science, she had been the Veterinary Assistant Instructor at Marion Technical College. As the new director of humane education for Humane Society of Marion County, Erin immediately began researching subject matter for lessons. She developed a different curriculum for each grade, from K through 5, for the program’s first year. By August she was already calling on and meeting with teachers and administrators. She created a schedule of school visits for the upcoming school year with the goal of visiting 31 local elementary schools in Marion County. When we met Erin at Wyomina Elementary in Ocala earli- er this year, the Magic Bark Bus had already completed the first half of the school year. “We are using a curriculum created, in
part, by the Humane Society of the United States, customizing it to meet the needs of our community,” Erin told us. “The evolving curriculum includes basic pet care for younger students. Eventually we’ll include lessons like animal-based careers for high school students.” The idea is to follow the students every school year, the humane edu- cation lessons commensurate with the child’s grade level. The classroom portion of the program
clips along pretty fast, as Erin holds every- one’s attention. Actually, it was pretty
www.TheNewBarker.com
{} AS WE LIVE A LIFE OF EASE
EVERYONE OF US HAS ALL WE NEED SKY OF BLUE AND SEA OF GREEN IN OUR YELLOW SUBMARINE.
From Yellow Submarine by Lennon/McCartney Amanda Thurber and Erin Garri.
impressive how she stayed on schedule despite some interruptions from her young audience. Erin is also well-aware and respect- ful of the time constraints placed on the teachers. In each new classroom at the school, she introduced herself and explained why she was there, quickly jumping into the business of teaching and presenting the les- son. After the lesson, the students are given a short in-class- room assign- ment. Once completed, they line up and head out to the Magic Bark Bus for the most
exciting portion of the lesson: meeting dogs and cats from Marion County Humane Society. “We have had
some amazing results,” said Erin. “We have seen children who have never touched an animal, leave the bus as animal lovers. We had a non-verbal child
speak to one of the animals. Our Doggone Good Reading attendance at the shelter has increased by 50 percent as a result of the Magic Bark Bus visits to the schools.” Additionally, the animals on the Magic Bark Bus are developing socialization skills leading to more of them get adopted. “So far, we have had eight teachers adopt from us,” said Erin. Right now, the Magic Bark Bus is
being funded through corporate and individual donations from within Marion County. Businesses and individuals may also have their names painted on the bus for a $100 donation. Ideas for future fundraising include involving the entire school system. Marion County has 49 public schools with around 6,000 employees in its school system. Marion County Humane Society is developing an initiative that will ask school system employees to buy in to the program by having a dollar from every paycheck deducted and donated to keep the Magic Bark Bus going.
A kitten encounter.
Erin with Dottie, aboard the Magic Bark Bus.
Continued on following pageg
Six-year-old Carter has three dogs at home. He fell in love with Mikey.
THE NEW BARKER 37
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