Edy McGee, PhD

6905 South 1300 East #101

Midvale, Utah 84047
801-949-4909; edymcgee@gmail.com

March 10, 2020

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with pleasure that I recommend Ms. Tyler Hair for a teaching position.

Ms. Hair is currently a student at Westminster College where she is completing the requirements
necessary to receive her teaching credential. For the past several months, I have represented
Westminster as Tyler’s student teacher supervisor.

I observed Tyler five times at Horizon Elementary School in a fourth-grade class. During these
observations, I saw Tyler teach language arts, math, and social studies lessons. The lesson plans
that Tyler wrote for these observations were based on the Utah Common Core State Standards
and followed a gradual-release model. Within each lesson plan, Tyler outlined strategies for
meeting the needs of the diverse population she is serving. These included having the students
work in partnerships, small groups, providing models for the students, and offering other
necessary supports. Additionally, Tyler is using excellent strategies to help her students learn and
progress. I observed Tyler state the objective at the beginning of her lesson and check for student
understanding. Also, I observed Tyler use learning strategies that provide her students with
multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning progress. For example, she will have them
work in dyads or small groups. I observed her use manipulatives, videos, Venn diagrams,
narratives, white boards, modeling, writing to a prompt using a sentence stem, graphic
organizers, and an online program. Additionally, during each of my visits, I observed Tyler
activate the students’ prior knowledge and assess where they were in their learning progress
before proceeding with the new content. As the students worked individually or collaboratively,
Tyler monitored them by walking around the room, assessing their work and adjusting and
reteaching the lesson material as needed. Her lessons were both challenging and engaging

When student teachers begin teaching mid-year, the mentor teacher has already established the
routines and rules of the class. Then it is up to the student teacher to use this structure and move
forward as she takes over the classroom. I saw a seamless transition. The classroom is very
positive with minimal classroom management issues. When those few management issues arose,
Tyler handled them professionally and effectively by correcting the behavior and then providing
specific positive feedback to reinforce the desired behavior. It was obvious that Tyler respects
her students and they respect her.

Student teaching is a time for great learning. I have seen an increase in Tyler’s teaching skills
and in her confidence during the time I’ve worked with her. After each of my observations, I
met with Tyler to debrief. Part of that debriefing is to suggest goals for her to work on. She
incorporated those suggestions willingly and demonstrated them during the next observation.
Without a doubt Tyler has a definite learning mindset.

In addition to the professional skills I’ve discussed above, Tyler has character traits necessary for
working in an educational setting. She is able to make relationships with her students while also
setting boundaries for them. She has integrity and is trustworthy. She is calm, cheerful and
positive. Finally, she is a very hard worker.

It is my professional opinion that as she begins teaching in her own classroom, Tyler will do
extremely well. As with all new teachers, she will benefit by having a mentor with whom to
collaborate and who will help her acclimate to the culture of the school and district.

Perhaps the best recommendation I could give Tyler is that if I were in a position to hire her, I
would; furthermore, I would be pleased to have her teach my grandchildren.

For all of these reasons, I highly recommend Ms. Tyler Hair. If you have questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Edy A. McGee, PhD

Edy A. McGee, PhD
801-944-1675