Chicago area high school Dad Squad greets students, highlights importance of fathers

By Shardaa Gray

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    FLOSSMOOR, Illinois (WBBM) — Nearly 90 fathers and grandfathers greeted Homewood-Flossmoor High School students on Monday with the aim of promoting the message that dads are important and have a lasting impact on students and their entire school community.

The school holds the event for dads and grandpas every year. They’re there to uplift and bring a smile to their face.

They greeted students with friendly support: “It’s going to be a beautiful day!” and “Everything good?”

They also tell a corny dad joke, like Hilton Garrett.

Garrett: “What do a tick and the Eiffel Tower have in common? What city is the Eiffel Tower in?”

Student: “Paris.”

Garrett: “So they’re both Paris-.”

Students: “-sights.”

Garrett: “Yes!”

In total, there were 88 fathers and grandfathers, otherwise known as Dad Squad, who attended school in Flossmoor to make sure their kids know they care.

Garrett, whose son attends the school, has participated in the movement for the past three years.

“Just seeing the faces on the kids, it brings me back year after year,” Garrett said. “You can see the kids coming in on a Monday morning, early. Some of them are walking in with groggy eyes, but when they see us with the enthusiasm, they get really, really excited.”

Percy Scott helped form the Dad Squad in 2021.

“In New Orleans, I heard of something called Dad Squad where the schools were doing bad, and the dads came and started participating, and then the school turned around,” Scott said. “So I wanted to make sure that we could do something like that in our community.”

The goal is to dispel the myth that dads are not involved and do indeed care about their children’s high school education.

“The impact that is has, it has a lingering effect because our kids understand when they feel valued and supported like that, it kind of lasts for a couple of days,” said Homewood-Flossmoor Principal Clinton Alexander. “That positive impact resonates.”

School officials said they’ll continue Dad Squad for as long as possible. They’re even looking to extend the movement for moms as well.

They also said the previous years of Dad Squad events helped form positivity week. They’ll have a theme for the next four days to reiterate the positive values they tried to promote at the school.

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