The latest addition to the Lakota school family was made possible by a financial gift from The Joshua Al-lateef Jr. Foundation, which was created in memory of Al-lateef Jr., a special needs Lakota student who drowned in a retention pond near his apartment home in West Chester Twp. in November 2024.
The boy’s mother and foundation founder, Jonisa Cook, told Lakota officials “it’s just amazing what these dogs can do and how beneficial they can be to kids while at school.”
Cook told school officials she sees the presence of therapy dogs in schools as a direct extension of her foundation’s mission to support kids with autism.
Starting with Joshua’s home school district, Cook said she has her sights set on giving more dogs to other local districts, in addition to the other resources that the foundation provides to families of children with autism like swim lessons and music therapy.
Andrea Longworth, Lakota’s executive director of pupil services, said the school system “is deeply grateful to the Joshua Al‑Lateef Jr. Foundation for this remarkable gift.”
“Downy’s presence is already making a profound difference in the daily lives of Lakota West’s students and staff,” said Longworth.
Lakota officials said the two-year-old Downy also came from a longstanding partnership with Circle Tail, a non-profit organization that trains and finds partners for service, hearing, and facility dogs.
The school-based facility dogs provide cognitive, social, emotional and physical support to all students, especially those with disabilities and special needs. Besides providing an additional source of therapy and safety, they are specially trained to improve self-esteem, reduce anxiety and promote overall well-being and mental health.
“She loves to be loved. Some kids walk through the door and they’ve had a rough day or there’s just tough things in their lives. She’s just somebody who isn’t going to judge the kids and is just there for them every day,” said Lakota West instructional aide Beth Gogolewski, who is also Downy’s primary handler.
“She makes me feel at peace and also understood and seen in a way because her presence is super comforting,” said Lakota West junior Kayla Pichardo Lora.
“They took something tragic and turned it into something beautiful,” said Lora. “I think it’s a really inspirational story that they were able to do something so beautiful and provide us with the blessing that is Downy.”
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