The Daily Times

Sam Houston Elementary School’s educators have partnered with positive male role models in the community.

The school is currently participating in Family First’s All Pro Dad program, which helps men to become better fathers.

“It’s been a great program for us,” said Principal Scott Blevins. “We’re always looking for ways to get more parents involved, and we’ve started to see more dads come into our school with this program.”

During the monthly All Pro Day, fathers eat breakfast and interact with their children. They later have a presentation in the school’s gym and cover a new topic each month.

Participants have discussion prompts to broach topics that they might not normally cover. They also have take-home challenges such as lying outside and using a star chart to identify constellations.

Sam Houston Elementary School’s program has averaged about 100 people for the first three monthly breakfasts, said team captain David Topor.

Participants enjoy the program’s convenience and relevant messaging.

“I like that this program allows me to carve out some time for my children in the morning,” said Chris Wolford, who has two Sam Houston Elementary School students: fourth-graders Blair and Cameron Wolford.

“We also get to meet other parents and children. We always introduce our children and tell them why we’re proud of them. I think it’s a very positive experience for everyone,” he said.

Wolford also likes the monthly presentation messages such as encouraging children and not allowing them to quit. He also completed a take-home challenge where he helped his sons with their sit-ups and push-ups. “We had to encourage them to do their exercises and praise them for their effort. It brought home the message.”

“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity,” said Craig Hammonds, who is the father of third-grader Taylor Hammonds. “I have two children, and it’s sometimes hard to find specific individual time for each child. The program’s one-on-one time is what we most look forward to each month. We talk about a lot of different things such as upcoming plans and what’s going on in our lives.”

On Friday morning, the pair talked about possible plans to move overseas. Craig Hammonds recently went on a mission trip to Papua New Guinea, and he learned about a teaching position at a mission school.

Many children said they like the program’s interpersonal components.

“I like it, because we get to see all the fathers and kids come together,” Blair Wolford said.

“I just look forward to eating breakfast with my dad,” Cameron Wolford said.SClBAll Pro Dad was launched in 1997 with the help of former Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy of the National Football League. The program is structured around NFL football to attract a diverse audience of men and their families. All Pro Dads has 53 NFL spokesmen, multiple events with NFL teams, over 1,000 All Pro Dad’s Day chapters, and Play of the Day daily e-mails that reach over 56,000 fathers each day.

Topor hopes to locate a regional partner, such as the University of Tennessee, in the near future. He also serves as team captain for Maryville Intermediate School’s program.

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