It’s a quiet Tuesday morning, and a handful of third graders shuffle into Abby Isenburg’s room at Maconaquah Elementary School in northern Indiana.

Isenburg, a reading specialist for the Maconaquah School Corporation, greets them at the door. Standing beside Isenburg is a quiet, medium-sized black dog with fluffy hair.

The one-year-old cockapoo is Frances Slocum, better known as “Frankie” or “Franks,” Maconaquah’s reading therapy dog.

“She is part of us,” Isenburg said. “She brings love, tenderness and a sense of comfort to a large majority of students and staff.”

The students in Isenburg’s class are third graders who need extra reading instruction. After Isenburg delivers instruction to the group of students around a table, the students are free to sit in bean bag chairs or on a couch, or find a spot on the floor for independent reading time.

This is where Frankie’s talents shine.

She makes her way from one student to another, lying down next to those who are still. The more focused a student is, the more likely Frankie is to plop down at their side.

“I never taught her to do that,” Isenburg said. “She just does it as though she knows to spread her attention around the room. It’s quite remarkable.”

Students know the rules. If they prefer to not read to Frankie, they can remain at a desk, and she will leave them alone. If they allow Frankie to distract them, Frankie will go in her kennel. And if the students misbehave in their home classroom, they lose their privileges of reading with Frankie in Isenburg’s room.

Students are better behaved, knowing that quality time with Frankie is on the line, Isenburg said.

Fourth grader Manreev Singh visits Isenburg’s room as an English learner student three times a week. He was new to the school last year, and had not been around dogs much before meeting Frankie.

“The first time, I was scared and afraid that she would bite me,” he said. “But then she loved me.”

Singh said Frankie now relaxes him when he is reading.

“She doesn’t disturb us, and she’s soft to touch,” he said.

Third grader Madison Brennan visits Isenburg five times per week for literacy instruction, and she spends her individual reading time reading to Frankie. Brennan said she has been scared of dogs in the past, but Frankie is well-behaved and doesn’t give her a reason to be afraid.

Brennan said Frankie is “like a good friend” who listens.

“I normally have a hard time reading by myself, but when I read to Frankie, I don’t have a hard time,” Brennan said. “I don’t get overwhelmed if I don’t know a word.”

Brennan now reads independently outside of school, and her reading level is improving as a result.

Singh and Brennan are just two of the students who benefit from Frankie. Isenburg said she had a student who was so shy he wouldn’t speak, but when Frankie was introduced to her classroom, the student spoke “nonstop” about Frankie. It was a breakthrough for him.

The idea for a reading dog program came to Isenburg about 15 years ago when she was working on her master’s degree, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that she set a goal to implement the program in her class. She knew the program would be effective in boosting students’ reading skills, confidence and provide an incentive for them to attend and do well in school.

Isenburg and Frankie are participating in canine obedience training in Kokomo. They have completed classes on basic manners and adaptation to stressful environments, and a final class will complete her training for therapy certification.

Isenburg told the Kokomo, Indiana Tribune the program has made a noticeable difference with the students she sees, and she expects the impact to continue to grow.

“Frankie is the best stress-reliever offered to both teachers and students,” one teacher recently told Isenburg. “She just makes our lives a little happier.”

The Kokomo, Indiana Tribune contributed to this story.