Highlands Middle School expands Ram's Den to help students with necessities

What began as a small stack of shirts and pants for clothing emergencies at Highlands Middle School will expand in November into a large-capacity Ram’s Den open to all students.

The room will stock things from sweatpants to toothpaste to canned food.

“If a student is at school and has violated dress code or gets a spill or a hole in their clothing, they are encouraged to use the Ram’s Den so they can comfortably finish the day,” teacher and project coordinator Melissa Billingsley said. “They can then keep the clothing or items.”

The gesture is aimed at keeping children in class — and free from embarrassment, officials said.

All of the donations are doled out in privacy.

“Clothing can even be for students when they are not in school and they are just in need of some things for home,” Billingsley said.

Items are being collected to stock the Ram’s Den. Anyone interested can drop off shirts, shoes, pants, toothbrushes, shampoo and deodorant or other toiletries.

“We are happy to take anything for our students that will provide them with what they may need,” Billingsley said.

The middle school Ram’s Den was modeled after a similar effort at the high school. It began as a small-scale project in 2017, but middle school Principal Kim Price quickly realized it had the support to help more children.

Price said school leaders kept a small supply of gently used clothes in the gym closet for kids who might have spilled ketchup at lunch or had a dress code issue.

“The nurse’s office housed toiletries and other private items for students to use as needed,” Price said.

In the guidance office, there were backpacks and bags available.

In 2020, Billingsley helped organize the resources into two centralized spaces inside the boys and girls locker rooms.

As students continued to reach out for necessities, Price decided to expand even further into one large room, she said.

“This year, we have been able to add canned goods to the list,” Price said.

“We hope students continue to take advantage of this resource and are very grateful for our community’s contributions.”