"Learning for a Lifetime" Central Office 400 East Madison Street Mt. Pleasant, lA 52641 Dr. John A. Roederer, Superintendent Paul Beatty, Director of Instruction W. Edward Chabal, Business Manager Phone: 319-385-7750 Fax: 319-385-7788 0, the March 21, 2012 To whom it may concern: This letter of recommendation regards my support for Dina Saunders as a candidate for admission into your Educational Leadership program. My reflections are based on my interaction with Mrs. Saunders as her building principal for two years and most recently as Director of Instruction. In those years, three qualities emerged that reflect an exceptional candidate for education leadership. Those qualities include devoted student advocate, intellectually curious educator and a perceptive professional. Mrs. Saunders devotion to her students is unquestionable as demonstrated in her work ethic that extends well beyond the contract hours. Working with English Language Learners, Mrs. Saunders advocates for her students with the whole child perspective. While many are prone to enabling, Mrs. Saunders has a keen notion of supporting the student without diminishing their independence. She draws much passion from her family's immigrant heritage to continuously serve her students despite the challenging number and diversity of students on her roster. Mrs. Saunders is likewise intellectually curious as an educator who seeks continuous growth in the tools and understanding of her craft. Mrs. Saunders thinks deeply about the effectiveness of the interventions, curriculum and assessment that she utilizes to seek growth and achievement for her students. This enables her to be flexible in her approach with students, as well as, her professional peers. An example of her efforts has been to work with her fellow ELLinstructors to learn and share about the Sheltered Instruction Model of student instructional support. Finally, I'm enthusiastic in strongly recommending Mrs. Saunders as I've observed her demonstrate an ability to think comprehensively about situations from the student/family perspective, the teacher perspective, the program perspective and the district perspective. An educational leader has to be able to recognize and weigh the many tradeoffs that are present in many situations. Mrs. Saunders has the ability to "walk in the shoes of others" as she contributes to problem-solving in many complicated situations. Mrs. Saunders will be a strong learner within your program, but will also contribute much to the learning of her peers in the program. Sincerely, ~".~~ ()ij( Paul Beatty 6 Director of Instruction