by Matt Szabo for the LA Times, June 17, 2021

Each Friday, Huntington Beach schoolteacher Holly Sjogren goes to the bank to pour coins into a machine.

The bank employees acknowledge Sjogren’s arrival, but they’re especially happy to see her canine companion. Keeper is an 18-month-old black Labrador retriever and guide dog in training who goes pretty much everywhere with the Hope View Elementary teacher.

“It’s great,” Sjogren said. “The people at the bank all know him. They say, ‘Here comes the Hope View dog!’”

Sjogren and Keeper have been joined at the hip since he was about 8 weeks old, but he’s about to be turned over to the hands of others for “puppy college” through Guide Dogs of America.

Sjogren, who has been teaching in the Ocean View School District for more than 30 years, has raised money for the nonprofit for the last 10 of those. In 2017, the district authorized her to bring a guide dog, Luka, onto the Hope View campus in Huntington Beach.

“I’d love to see it in every school,” said district Board of Trustees clerk Gina Clayton-Tarvin, who was the board president in 2017. “We feel like this program is like the pinnacle of what you can do to support kids, and to make them feel happy when they’re at school.”

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TRiGroup’s Advice: Take notice that there are endless creative ways to promote a positive school culture. We recommend strategies and programs that connect the students to real-world experiences, like Hope View Elementary School did by collaborating with Guide Dogs for America. Just as important, connect the programs with the interests of the teachers, who will undoubtedly be the ones who promote the activities long-term.