Richardson ISD Buddy Benches Help Students Make Friends
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A simple bench on the playground is helping students work through loneliness and encourage friendship.
Students and faculty at Dobie Elementary in Dallas were recently introduced to Buddy Benches.
"School is more fun and more engaging when you have a friend to play with, and to look forward to," explains Principal Kirstyn Hart. "It's also someone who can make you feel better when you're sad."
The ideas is when teachers who notice a student sitting on the Buddy Bench will help connect them to playmates.
Buddy Benches were started by a 1st grader at Roundtown Elementary in York Pennsylvania who noticed kids on the playground sitting by themselves.
T.J. Cofer, a UTD student working for his Boy Scout Eagle Badge, raised enough money for four benches in Richardson ISD schools.
Principal Hart says Dobie Elementary school teachers have noticed fewer kids playing by themselves and would like to see more benches in more schools.
The movement is growing across the county and here in North Texas, Akiba Academy of Dallas also has two bright blue Buddy Benches.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
