15 October, 2011 Letter of recommendation for Tiffany Hay I started working with the IB Diploma Program in 1990, and

since that time I have worked with six IB Coordinators. In the five years Tiffany Hay has been at our school I have found her to be the finest IB Coordinator is has been my pleasure with whom to work. She has made a major contribution to our school in terms of expanding student enrollment in the IB, fine-tuning the process to make it effective for our students and teachers, modeling outstanding teacher practice, and integrating pastoral care into her duties. Tiffany arrived at our school during my second year, and the Diploma Program had been established at our school for eight years. At that time, about 20-60% of our students were enrolled in the program in any given year, and being an IB Diploma candidate still carried the negative stigma of being a nerds only pursuit. Working with a new head of school and the existing Secondary administration, Tiffany changed both Diploma Program participation and its perception. She greatly clarified the process for students being admitted into and staying in the program a process welcomed by students, parent, and teachers and set about promoting the program with level-headed enthusiasm and quiet persistence. Within two years, 90% of our students became full Diploma candidates, and the school culture shifted from the Diploma program being the exception to being the norm. Working hard with her faculty colleagues, while enrollment in the program greatly expanded our pass rate increased and our average score (33) was maintained a significant achievement. Tiffany aided this process by consistently reviewing and revising the programs progression. Prior to her arrival, far too many major assignments and deadlines were restricted to fairly late in the first semester or early in the second semester of senior year, with deadlines far too-close together and dangerously difficult to achieve if a student ran into difficulty. Collaborating with the faculty, she developed a far-better pace and shape for the program, establishing new internal deadlines and providing better lead time and reporting opportunities for major assignments. At the same time, she also joined with other teachers to successfully advocate for tightening policies on deadlines to help students stay on track and be accountable. Her efforts led to a significant reduction in student stress level, and gave students who might not have opted for the Diploma program a chance to succeed by creating a far-improved workflow. None of this kind of work was particularly easy or flashy, but it was what was necessary to further grow the Diploma program into the success that it is today. Additionally, Tiffany improved communication with parents about the Diploma program, from introducing 10th grade parents to it along with helping parents understand the process along the way. While she was doing this work, Tiffany was very open to suggestions from faculty and students on how to further fine-tune the process, resulting in further improvement. As a teacher, Tiffany is regarded by her students as demanding and fair. Her students have particularly commented on her being an effective writing teacher in her History class, and I have seen her put in additional time helping students with both their writing and critical thinking abilities. She is also a reflective educator, committed to maintaining high standards with her students and independently willing to try different strategies with her classes to help her students succeed while engaged in regular curriculum revision. As a school counselor, I couldnt help
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noticing that during Tiffanys tenure at our school that she became increasingly attuned- and responsive-to student needs. She regularly checks in with grade levels to see how they are doing, and students know that they can come to see her if workloads seem to be getting overwhelming. On several occasions, she has asked the faculty to either let up on certain pressures related to student stress, or called a problem-solving meeting to address issues of lack of commitment and how to better-motivate students. She has also been instrumental in calling for regular faculty meetings to check in on all Diploma program students, and this has helped me as a counselor better-identify students in need of additional advising. Its a little difficult for me to imagine what our school would be like without Tiffany. My greatest hope for the person who will inevitably succeed her one day is that they take an exceptionally long, hard look at what she has done at our school, as I have yet to work with an IB Coordinator who has been so effective at managing the Diploma program and helping such a large number of students find their way through it. She has done exemplary work with us, and I am convinced she will do that same at any school lucky enough to have her on their faculty.

Andy Mennick High School Guidance/College Counselor amennick@aisb.ro