March 7, 2015

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my sincere pleasure to write this letter of recommendation for Jenna

Stoutenburg for both an elementary and/or a special education teaching position. I
have worked with Jenna since the beginning of the Fall semester 2014 through the
Spring semester of 2015. I have observed her in a variety of working situations
including our weekly seminars, at Michigan State University, as well as numerous
teaching situations in her internship classrooms. In the fall, she interned in a third
grade classroom at Whitmer Human Resource Center and in the spring at an
elementary resource room at Herrington Elementary; both schools are in the Pontiac
School District (which is considered an urban school district). Jenna is/was
committed to learning, dedicated, enthusiastic and a creative educator. Jenna is/was
both warm and caring which created a strong relationship with her students.

College of
Education

Department of
COUNSELING,
EDUCATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGY,
AND SPECIAL
EDUCATION

Michigan State
University
Erickson Hall
620 Farm Lane
East Lansing, MI 48824

517-355-1837
Fax: 517-353-6393
education.msu.edu

MSU is an affirmative-action,
equal-opportunity employer.

In the fall, Jenna worked in an elementary 3rd grade classroom where her lessons
were developmentally appropriate as well as curriculum based. The instructional
strategies used were, guided reading, Writer's Workshop, and Everyday Math. Jenna
was well prepared, organized , and created lessons (that included "think aloud",
modeling, guided practice, checking for understanding and assessment) that would
meet the wide range of academic abilities found in the third grade classroom. She
would then take those assessments to adjust her lessons and or further work with
small groups to ensure their understanding. She worked to include variety of
learning structures such as: large and small groups, centers, partner activities and
one on one conferencing during the teaching day. She also motivated her students
with hands on activities, technology and games to enhance their learning.

In the Spring semester, Jenna worked in an elementary resource room with grades
K-6. Jenna was responsible for creating and implementing her own lessons for her
K-6 students, as there was no Special Education Curriculum in the Pontiac School
System. Her curriculum was based off the goals of the students IEP's. She also
created most of the materials as there was a limited amount of supplies available.
She did progress monitoring of the goals, met with staff and parents to discuss the
students progress, analyzed data, wrote IEP's and facilitated meetings. She used a
variety of learning strategies and adapted curriculum in many different ways so that
students had increased chances of learning. Her lessons were well thought out,
creative, and well planned while still allowing the flexibility to meet the needs of the

group. She used a calm, respectful, consistent, and flexible demeanor when working
with her students. When she needed behavior strategies, she used verbal cues
(restatement of rules, redirection, or the "I"statement) or non-verbal cues (proximity,
visibility, mobility control) Jenna always verbalized positive reinforcement and
praise. She also made up her own behavior system/ chart and used the computer
DoJo System to ensure that the students were focused and learning.

In closing, Jenna is a positive and professional young educator. I highly recommend

her for an elementary or special education teaching position. She would be a
wonderful addition to any school, and any parent would be fortunate to have his/her
child in her class.

Sincerely,
Kathy McCurdy
MSU Field Instructor
(Cell) 248-877-3299
(E-mail) kathym815@gmail.com