Melodee Loshbaugh, EdD – Dr. Mel
Executive Academic Director, NWES

Melodee has been an educator for many years. She started her work as an elementary classroom teacher and since that time has taught at the junior high and college level. In pursuit of answers to questions Dr. Loshbaugh had regarding why certain kids were struggling in school, having difficulty learning to read and/or sit still, she began her pursuit of study which includes the following degrees:

• MAT in Special Education
• MAT in Gifted and Talented
• EdD in Early Literacy Development, 1989, Washington State University.

She owes her desire to understand the problems many students are experiencing to her own children, Gabe and Brock, who both temporarily appeared to be struggling early on with the reading process. Although she was a classroom teacher at the time, she says that the preparation needed to really understand the nature of reading difficulties just wasn’t and still isn’t comprehensive enough in basic teaching certification programs. And, in today’s world, it certainly isn’t enough to prepare teachers for the diverse world of students’ needs today.

Times are changing, kids are changing, and we know so much more about specific learning problems. But, unfortunately, most school systems haven’t had the ability or resources to keep up, and teacher training programs haven’t incorporated this information into their programs either.

Dr. Mel’s belief is that in today’s world it “takes a village” to get our children through school. The pressure is greater than ever before to succeed and the resources are less. She also says, in many cases it requires “out of the box” creative alternatives that really put your student at the center of the solution. The sky is the limit when it comes to making sure your child gets what they need. As co-founder and executive academic director Dr. Mel is committed to offering tailored tutoring services to each of our students.

Gabriel Thomas Loshbaugh
Director, NWES

Gabe says he was “born ” to teach and help kids feel the power of success. He knew from a very early age he was called into the education field. As a young boy he was always instructing his buddies in some fashion-whether they wanted it or not.

Gabe's passion is history. From a very earlier age he wanted to understand how and why some countries flourished and some didn’t. He started watching the nightly news at age 6. Gabe went on to graduate from Western Washington University with a focus in political science.

Today, he is doing exactly what he wants; working with students to help them discover themselves as learners. As a young student, Gabe experienced school as a student with a learning disability and today is the classic example of how to overcome such a potentially devasting learning challenge. He has a keen understanding and hands on experience working with students with specific learning needs.

He also says that working with children has always brought the best out of him. “I knew from an early age that teaching/educating would be my calling. Of course, having grown up in an educator’s household made it easy to assimilate a wide range of knowledge about what works and what doesn’t work with students.”