Sidelight: Joan Mast

A superintendent’s visit to a school can trigger others’ nerves, but not when it’s Joan Mast — at least when she’s accompanying Spiffy, a trained therapy dog. “It just adds a level of calm and approachability,” says Mast, superintendent of New Jersey’s Scotch Plains-Fanwood Public Schools. Not long after taking the job in 2019 and inspired by David Baugh, who trained a therapy dog while a Pennsylvania superintendent, Mast says her school board was “immediately enthusiastic” about her suggestion to get one too. The COVID-19 pandemic and move to online schooling gave Mast and assistant Robin Broadbent the time and space to train Spiffy. The golden retriever, who enjoys shared custody with the two, is a sought-after personality across the district’s eight schools, listening to early readers, attending sporting events and providing a soft spot for struggling students. Says Mast, a 14-year AASA member: “It really is a morale booster for the whole district climate.”