W-E Schools District Focus December, 2013 | Page 3

Positive Behavior Supports Willoughby Middle
As a part of the Positive Behavior Supports initiative at WMS, all three
grades at Willoughby Middle School heard the powerful and inspiring message of Reggie Dabbs. This is the second appearance for Reggie at
Willoughby Middle School in the past three years. A product of the “mean
streets” of Chicago, Reggie overcame a childhood of rejection and hopelessness to deliver a message of love and acceptance that inspires, amazes, empowers, teaches and entertains, while providing students with hope for the
future! His musical interludes bring students to his positive message with
the gift of music!
Reggie's quote, “You can never change
your past, but you can change your
future,” resonates with middle school
students and his insistence that students become defenders of each other
to eliminate bullying in our schools is
always well-received by students and
staff alike!”

Willowick Middle School Media Center

L

ibrary/Media Specialist Jennifer Edmiston recently received a grant for $1500.00
from the Eastlake Wal-Mart. Mrs. Edmiston was looking for a way to meet the needs
of her students and staff by writing a grant that would allow her to add valuable materials to the Willowick Middle School Library. The grant money is being used to purchase high lexile books that are also age appropriate and Playaways, an electronic listening device similar to an IPod, for Intervention Specialists to use with their students.
She is also adding a new DVD collection of movies that were once books.
Mrs. Edmiston stated that with the new Common Core standards focusing on reading
both fiction and Non-fiction it was important to incorporate more up to date nonfiction into her collection with a focus on biographies. The many changes to the physical environment and the availability of new reading materials, including
Nooks, have made a significant change in the number of books students are checking
out from the library. Since joining the Willowick Middle School staff three years ago
she has increased circulation by more than 120%.

3