Exit Progress Description of Megan Saputo

Mentor Teacher, Jody Cuatt

March 18, 2015
Megan Saputo has been my student intern at Henry Ford II High School in Sterling Heights,
Michigan from September through March of the 2014-2015 school year. Henry Ford II is a ninth
through twelfth grade public high school, with a predominately Caucasian student body with
about nine percent African American, Asian American, and Hispanic. Ford is more socioeconomically diverse than ethnically diverse. Ford is considered to be a suburb of Detroit. Last
year (2013-2014), 63% of HFII students went on to a 4-year college, 35% went on to a 2-year
college, and the others entered the work force.
Megan taught my ninth grade English courses during the year. She co-planned and taught our
short story and To Kill a Mockingbird units. Throughout this period, she was also responsible for
providing background knowledge, incorporating supplemental materials, relating discrepant
texts, assessing for understanding through writing, and utilizing technology to engage and
educate students. During her lead teaching period, she planned and taught the Argumentative
Research Paper which creatively led into her unit for The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. This unit
also included background material, end-of-act check for comprehension activities, supplemental
texts, writing assessments, technology related assignments, and a culminating project. While
Megans experience has solely involved freshmen, there was a wide range of ability, motivation,
and interest among the students. She has had a solid experience with many literary genres,
grammar concepts, technology projects, and writing assignments.
I was impressed with Megans content knowledge throughout the year. Her understanding of the
literature helps her create lessons that encourage critical thinking and student engagement with
the texts. While teaching To Kill a Mockingbird, students were asked to create character
silhouettes by pulling out and citing textual evidence. Students were then to write a literary
synthesis essay which linked the anchor text to other discrepant texts introduced throughout the
unit. From the opening pre-reading activities to the culminating essay, there was a connectedness
to the unit. Megan is willing to do extra research where she may not be as comfortable with the
content, and her preparedness is obvious on a daily basis. Megan knows the content, which is
extremely important, but she has truly developed as a teacher over the course of the last few
months. She is continuously evolving based on her own reflection. She always searches for the
best activity to drive the objective of the lesson home for the students.
Megan is good at using supplemental resources to engage students in class. She utilizes movie
clips, grammar videos, Prezis and PowerPoints, to initiate a lesson. She is aware of the students
needs for variety and continues to attempt to interest them on many levels.
Megan has grown exponentially in regards to her comfort level in front of the class. Her
relationships with the students are evident in the number of students who come in before school
to "hang out" before school starts. Her anticipation of where kids will struggle is something that
tends to come naturally now, where at the start of the year it was more of a reflection after the
lesson and the need to reteach had to take place. Megan states her weakness is time management,
and I have to say this is no longer a concern of mine. She is able to pull the students in, teach the
lesson of the day, provide clarification and a fun activity, and most times, able to give a few

minutes the end as wellwhich I find extremely valuable. If the lesson of the day is well done,
the kids needs a few minutes to digest, reflect and ask questions on their own. They also need a
few minutes to possibly converse with their peers about the lesson of the day.
Students know they are held accountable for their work, which helps them realize responsibility.
Megan has essentially trained the students to conform to daily class procedures. Students are
aware of the weekly tentative agenda before school begins on Monday morning, as it is posted
on Schoology. They pick papers up as they enter the class to save instruction time, they monitor
our Schoology website for updates, they converse with one another on the website message
board when clarification is needed, they come in before or after school for assistance when
necessary, as class time is not appropriate, and they are aware of deadlines due to consistency
and routine throughout the year. Because Megan is prepared, the class environment is one of
productivity and focus. She is very approachable and non-threatening to the students which add
to the positive environment.
Megan is comfortable with technology and is able to incorporate it regularly. The kids enjoy the
break from the textbook, and do a wonderful job with the creative activities she creates.
Megan works well with other staff members. She attends all staff and department meetings and
even participates in discussions. She is willing to seek out suggestions and ideas from other
department colleagues in order to strengthen her toolbox. During parent teacher conferences
Megan took the lead in discussions regarding the students in her focus classes. She was very
adept at answering parent questions and concerns. She has a good understanding of each of her
students and was able to articulate those strengths and weaknesses to the parents.
I value Megan as a colleague. In our discussions, she always brings up significant and thoughtful
points. She is open to suggestions about her performance and ideas, and even seeks out my
opinion on a daily basis. Megan has high expectations of herself. She strives to succeed in all
aspects of her performance in our profession. Her desire for success leads to her reflective nature
and acts as a stimulus for improvement. Megan has found her teacher voice which enables her to
infuse interesting and innovative elements into the required curriculum. I am confident Megan
will make an exceptional contribution to our profession.
Jody Cuatt
Henry Ford II High School
Jody.cuatt@uticak12.org