About the Story Dogs Organisation throughout Australia
Learn about us
Leah Sheldon and Janine Sigley formed the non-profit Story Dogs organisation in 2009 in Murwillumbah, NSW. At the time both Leah and Janine had primary school aged children.
After seeing a similar program operating in the USA on the internet they decided Australia needed such a program. They came up with Story Dogs, based on the successful American literacy program, Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.), which was launched in 1999 in Utah, USA. R.E.A.D. was the first comprehensive literacy program built around the appealing idea of children and young adolescents reading to dogs.
Leah and Janine are both dog lovers and also passionate about children reaching their full potential.
Underpinning the objectives of our program is the knowledge that “students with reading difficulties find themselves in a cycle of almost unrelenting failure that ensures an ever-widening gap between them and fluent readers.” (Konza, 2006. p. 152).
They first trialled the program in 2009 in their own children’s school, Murwillumbah East Public School, even though the Principal and others were unsure how successful it would be.
To the Principal's surprise, Story Dogs was very successful, with great improvements noticed in the participating students. There was positive feedback from the students, the teachers, the principal and the parents.
From there, Story Dogs expanded and has continued to grow and help all of Australia.
Woof Woof!
Story Dogs is based on the successful American literacy program, Reading Education Assistance Dogs (R.E.A.D.). The R.E.A.D program was launched in 1999 in Utah, USA, as the first comprehensive literacy program built around the appealing idea of children and young adolescents reading to dogs.
Reading sessions take place in a quiet area of the school grounds, such as the library or outside the classroom. A reading session is approximately 20 minutes long, where each child is one-on-one with the dog team. Books are chosen to suit the student´s reading level.
During the session, the handler often speaks through the dog, such as; “Sam doesn't understand what is happening on this page, could you help him out?” The child becomes the teacher as they help the dog understand, and their confidence soars.
Our volunteers come with fun, interesting books that are specifically chosen for beginner readers. The students also have input into what they read. We encourage the students to write letters to the dogs between reading sessions, further encouraging literacy skills.
Which children are chosen for the program?
The children are usually Year 2 students, generally between seven- and eight-years-old who are chosen by the school. We do not take children below Year 1.
Story Dogs does not assess the children in any way, as the sessions are designed to be as fun and non-threatening as possible. We rely on assessment results taken by the school.
Parental consent is required before a child can participate in the program.
The volunteers
Story Dogs handlers are volunteers trained to help emergent readers. The handler will not judge the child and will help in a non-threatening way. We are fully insured and our handlers have Working with Children Checks as per each State's regulations.
“Students love the experience and do not really think that it is actually a learning task – they just have fun!”
Kristi Purvis, Teacher at Centaur Public School, NSW
Doing our bit for Australian made and a cleaner, greener planet
Our volunteers and dogs wear uniforms made in Australia. The dog vests and reading rugs are made by a small business on the Gold Coast in Queensland and our volunteer vests and some dog vests are made by by Scody in Brisbane. Scody have this information about their processes -
“Your garments are made in Australia and we have been doing this for 26 years. Wherever possible we use recycled yarns. Our factory is largely powered by solar energy and all light sources are natural or LED. Our polyester waste is reprocessed into polyester feedstock. We have almost eliminated plastic from our business. Our business model is made to order and there is very little pre-consumer waste. We manufacture in Seventeen Mile Rocks and greenhouse gasses from transport logistics are minimized.”
The books we use are mostly by Australian or New Zealand authors and are sourced through local publishers. We often buy books directly from the author.
We use two printing companies in Murwillumbah NSW (our home town) for all our printing needs as well as Office Choice in Murwillumbah for all our stationery needs.
Volunteer recognition pins, sponsor recognition plaques and year discs are made by a small company on the Gold Coast, Queensland.