Part of almost any school experience is teaching students how sometimes it takes a little “thinking outside the box” to reach the best answer or solution to a problem.
The concept was put into practice early in 2021 as Putnam County High School was gearing back up to full capacity coming out of the COVID restrictions. The courtyard just outside the school’s media center was overgrown, but soggy and boggy, making it difficult for lawnmowers to navigate there.
“We have all these beautiful windows to look out, and it just looked so rough and bad,” PCHS library media specialist Laurie Griffin said.
That’s when school principal Dr. Andrew Cooper suggested to her that perhaps goats would offer a practical, though decidedly alternative solution to the problem.
“This was a first for me, to have goats for the media center, but I’m quite happy to have them,” said Griffin, a 26-year veteran in school libraries but now in her third year at Putnam. “I grew up in the country, so I’m used to having goats and animals around, but I’m really glad that we have them here at school. The kids seem to enjoy it, too, and so do most of the teachers.”
After consulting with agriculture teacher Kelly Smith, who said she knew where they could get a couple of goats, Sebastian and Scuttles were purchased locally from Denise Carmichael of Carmichael Farms and they’ve made themselves at home in full view of media center users on one side and students in the school’s math lab on the other.
“I think most of the students here like seeing the goats,” Griffin said. “I have some (students) that come in every day, in the morning and at lunchtime, just to check on them and see what’s going on. A lot of kids just enjoy watching them.”
The goats offer practical advantages to students, too, as those in the agricultural stream at Putnam High take care of mostly black Sebastien and multi-colored Scuttles. Not only do agricultural students feed and water the goats daily, but they also learn to keep them clean, trim their hooves and even administer vaccinations or deworming as needed.
Additionally, students in the school’s construction pathway built a shelter for the goats, plus a small, multi-level platform for climbing and sunbathing, as well as a teeter-totter the two like to play on.
“Anytime it rains, these finicky little goats will run and go get in their shed. They do not like the rain,” Griffin stated. “Even in a little sprinkling, in they go. So, if you want a good predictor of the weather, you can just see if they’re in their shed because they know and they will not get out.”
When school gets out for the summer break, Sebastian and Scuttles temporarily return to Carmichael Farms, where PCHS student Sabrina Carmichael takes over their care.
However, Griffin revealed this could be the final semester for Scuttles and Sebastian at Putnam High School.
“They’ve done their job, the brush is gone, and that is something Ms. Kelly is looking at right now. So, they might be finding an alternative home after this school year. I’m personally a fan of the goats, so I’m definitely for them to stay,” she said.“But she’s looking at possibly putting some raised garden beds and some chickens back there, but yeah, I’m more for the goats instead. (Chickens) are not as much fun. So maybe I need to get Sebastian and Scuttles out and about a little more to make them a little bit more popular.”