It was a night of dads and kids at Covington Elementary Tuesday for the kick off of the WATCH D.O.G.S. program.

The acronym stands for “Dads of Great Students” and it is part of a national program promoting education and family involvement with fathers and father figures.

Covington Elementary principal, Miles Erdly, brought the program to the school.

Erdly said he began the program at a Puyallup school, and introduced the idea when he came to Covington Elementary.

“This is a great way to engage dads,” Erdly said.

Mike Zakowski, a second-grade teacher at the school, said the goal is to encourage dads to spend a whole day at the school.

Zakowski said the program was founded in 1998 by Jim Moore after he heard of a middle school shooting in Jonesboro, Ark.

“He wanted to find out how we could try to prevent these things from happening,” Zakowski said.

Tuesday evening the school auditorium was filled with dads and kids. Free pizza was served while Erdly, Zakowski and others explained the program and asked fathers to sign up for a day of volunteering at the school.

Dads could help in the library, classroom, on the playground or as gymnasium coaches. They could also help with projects around the school.