Lake County Gazette

When eighth-grade ELA teachers Jessica Blitstein and Susan Thoren at Shiloh Park Middle School encouraged students to carry independent reading books daily, retired Zion teacher Laura Marshall made a significant contribution. She donated complete sets of student favorites including "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," "Dork Diaries," "Goosebumps," "Dog Man," "I Survived," and various biographies.

Students were eager to label the books and begin reading, pleased that they could find their favorite titles in their classrooms. With an increasing number of students checking out books, the teachers had to innovate with storage solutions and continuously update their sign-out sheets.