Dr. Jerry A.

Caster
932 29th Street
West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-225-2016
cjeanjerry@aol.com
May 5, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:

Re: Melinda (Lindy) McBratney

It is a pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Lindy. I was her university supervisor
during student teaching. Prior to working with student teachers, I was a district special
education supervisor and then principal of two schools serving disabled students in the Des
Moines Schools. Lindy has the skills I looked for when I hired teachers.

Lindy had two student teaching placements. The first was in a ninth grade school in the West
Des Moines Schools, the other was in the high school of the Waukee School District. Both
schools are suburbs of Des Moines and serve more of middle to upper middle class population.
However, both schools do have some diversity. She worked with students with mild disabilities
and that is called Level I in Iowa.

The two placements were alike in that Lindy worked with really strong teachers. They were
different in that the ninth grade school was primarily co-teaching with some pullout and the
high school program was pullout with associates supporting students in general education
classrooms. In the high school program she was supporting students in their general education
studies and also working on IEP goals. Since co-teaching comes in so many different forms, Im
delighted that she had a chance to experience two very different models.

Lindy was successful in both placements. She connected with the students and the teachers.
The ninth grade school gave her an opportunity to plan with general education teachers and to
look at how to differentiate instruction. Some of the things she created to support her special
education students were adopted by the general education teachers for use with all ninth grade
students. They used technology and that made it easy for teachers to share with all students.

Ive not seen any student teacher (and most teachers) have a better sense of instructional
design than Lindy. She knows how to use technology as part of instruction, but always has a
clear sense of purpose. She creates very engaging lessons. As an administrator, she is a person
that I would love to have on my staff. She connects with students, but knows what is important
instructionally. As a principal, I liked teachers that parents respected and she will be one of
those. As a teacher, I would have loved to work with Lindy because she is well organized,
focused on the students, very creative, and is fun to be around.

Lindy is ready to go as a special education teacher. If there are things she needs to learn (and
who doesnt), she will learn them quickly.

Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Jerry A. Caster
Jerry A. Caster, Drake University
Supervisor of Student Teaching