September2016

ToWhomItMayConcern:
ItisaprivilegetorecommendSarahFadnessforateachingpositioninyourschooldistrict.IhadthepleasureofbeingSarahs
instructorfortwoofherthreeliteracycoursesandhersupervisorforherliteracyfieldworkexperienceatAlvernoCollege,fromwhere
IretiredinMay2016asanAssistantProfessorofEducation.Basedontheseexperiences,aswellasmytwentyyearsofexperienceas
areadingspecialistandchairofadistrictreading/languageartsdepartment,itismyprofessionaljudgmentthatSarahpossessesthe
knowledge,skills,anddispositionsneededtobeanexceptionalteacherofliteracyintheelementaryandmiddleschoolsettings.
AtAlverno,Sarahtookthreeseparateliteracycoursesthatcollectivelyfocusedonliteracyteachingandlearninginprekindergarten
througheighthgradesettings,aswellasafieldexperiencecoursecenteredonliteracyteachingandlearningattheearlyprimarylevel.
TheseexperiencesprovidedherwitharichfoundationtoeffectivelyteachtotheCommonCoreStateStandardsinEnglish/Language
Artsbyimplementingacomprehensiveliteracyapproachtochildreninprekindergartenthrougheighthgradeindevelopmentally
appropriateways.Throughouthercourseworkandfieldexperience,Sarahdemonstratedsolidexpertiseinherunderstandingofhow
todiagnoseandthenaddressthediversereadingandwritingneedsofchildrenthroughacombinationofexplicitteaching,guided
practice,andindependentpractice,deliveredinwholegroup,smallgroup,andindividualsettings.Theuseofassessmenttoinform
instruction,classroommanagementandtheappropriateincorporationofchildrensliteraturewerealsointegratedintoSarahscourse
projects.Sarahalsodemonstratedasophisticatedunderstandingoftheprinciplesofdisciplinaryliteracytoauthenticallyintegrate
readingandwritingintothecontentareas.Inthefieldexperience,thesecondofherfourfieldspriortostudentteaching,Sarahspent
overtwentyfivehoursinasecondgradeclassroom,whereshesuccessfullyplannedandimplementedthreestrongliteracylessons
usingtheworkshopmodel.Moreover,forherlastliteracycoursecompletedinMayof2016,Sarahusedasetofauthentic
multifaceteddatatodiagnosetheliteracyneedsofaspecificintermediatelevelclassroomofchildrenandthendevelopacomplex
comprehensiveliteracyplan.Thisinstructionalplan,basedonsoundeducationaltheory,includedappropriateassessmentsanda
detailedandinsightfuldescriptionofhowshewoulddifferentiateinstructionthroughtheworkshopapproach.Thislevelofthinking
wasalsounmistakablyapparentinSarahsdisciplinaryliteracyprojectinwhichshetaughthercolleagueshowtoapplytheprinciples
ofdisciplinaryliteracytoeffectivelyteachthecontentareaofsocialstudies.Sarahenthusiasticallycreatedandsharedaseriesof
standardsbasedlessonsfocusedonthetopicofimmigrationusingtheworkshopmodel.Theprojectalsoincludedalistofappropriate
andhighlyengagingprintandnonprintmaterialsgearedtowardthevariousdevelopmentalliteracyneedsofatypicalmiddleschool
classroom,possibleauthenticwritingopportunities,andsolidassessmentstrategies.Throughtheselearningandinstructional
experiences,Sarahclearlyshowedthatsheisexceedinglywellpreparedtobeatrulyeffectiveliteracyteacherforchildreninavariety
ofgradelevelsattheelementaryandmiddleschoollevels.Sheisalsoequippedtosuccessfullyimplementadisciplinaryliteracy
approach,particularlyinthecontentareaofsocialstudies.Studentcenteredinherapproach,herdedicationtocreatingalearning
environmentwhereeachchildwillbecomeastrongreader,writerandthinkerwasplainlyevident.
Sarahalsoembodiedfinepersonalattributesofaprofessionaleducator.WhileastudentatAlverno,Sarahearnedthereputationfor
beinghighlyresponsibleandforpossessingexceptionalorganizationalskillsthroughherperformanceinhercourseworkaswellas
throughheroncampusemploymentandhervolunteerwork.Sheeagerlysoughtoutexperiencestocontributetothecollegeandto
hercommunityandtohelphergrowasafutureeducator.Herpassionandenthusiasmforteachingandlearning,herworkethic,and
hereasyfacilitytocollaborateeffectivelywithhercolleaguesasamemberofaprofessionallearningcommunitywerehighly
respected.Sheconsistentlypushedherselffordeeperunderstandingtoimproveherpracticethroughahealthyabilitytoselfassessand
tousefeedbacktoimproveherunderstandingofcoursecontenttostrengthenherowneffectivenessintheclassroom.Shedisplayeda
genuinecommitmenttobeingalifelonglearnerfocusedoncontinuallyimprovingstudentlearning.
IencourageyoutostronglyconsiderSarahFadnessasacandidatefortheteachingpositioninyourschooldistrict.Sheisoneofthe
mostoutstandingpreserviceeducatorsIencounteredduringmytimeatAlvernoandwouldbeavaluableadditiontoanyschool
community!
Pleasecontactmeifyouhaveanyquestions.
Sincerely,

Robin Gleason
Robin Gleason
Assistant Professor of Education - Retired
Alverno College
1-262-691-5016

jwregleason@gmail.com