Exit Performance Description for Mr.

Adam Rohde
Mentor teacher, Jennifer LeRoy

Mr. Adam Rohde taught a full year at Everett High School in Lansing, Michigan. Everett is a ninth
through twelfth grade public high school with an incredibly diverse population reflecting over 50
nationalities. The student population consists of about 29 percent Caucasian, 47 percent African
American, 8 percent Asian Pacific Islander, and 16 percent Hispanic American. The student body
consists of 16-22% who can be categorized as an English as a Second Language student. The majority
of students are on free or reduced lunch, and many students have insecure and transient home
situations, though there is a strong middle class population represented in about a third of the student
population. The school has an attendance of 1,397 students, though 300 or more students are
technically “enrolled”, despite their lack of presence. About 30 percent of the students who graduate
from Everett go on to some type of postgraduate schooling, and the others enter the work world or
other institutions.

Adam taught three different sophomore level courses during the year. He was completely responsible
for Honors American Literature, including a 6th hour which was a tough mixture of honors and regular
literature students of which a more seasoned teacher like myself found difficult to manage. We began
the year with Native American texts and followed that up with excerpts from Benjamin Franklin,
Thomas Jefferson, and Jonathon Edwards. Adam then was responsible to teach The Crucible,
“Kyaanisqatsi”, “The Lottery”, and “A Sound of Thunder”, concentrating on skill-based abilities as
well as content, especially in terms of character development and the ability to inference appropriately
as it pertains to the overall story. He also discussed excerpts from “The Interesting Narrative of the Life
of Olaudah Equiano”, “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass”, and Thomas Paine's The
Crisis, No.1. I gave Adam room to teach, suggesting various texts, to which he responded by taking
some of my suggestions and including some of his own texts including an excerpt from President
Barack's historic inaugural address, Martin Luther King Jr.'s “I Have A Dream” speech, poems by
Countee Cullen and Langston Hughes, not to mention an article discussing the history of African
American musical influence on American music in general. Adam also taught Mark Twain's “The
Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Washington
Irving's “The Devil and Tom Walker”. He expects to tackle the likes of texts such as Of Mice and Men,
Zoot Suit, Shadow of The Dragon, and A Raisin In The Sun, not to mention excerpts from women's
literature including authors such as Alvarez, Tan, Walker, Plath, Frank, Morrison, Chopin, Cather, and
Welty. Adam's choices were sensitive to various times of year including Black History Month and the
chronological development of American thought and culture, taking into perspective student interest
and understanding as well.

I was impressed with Adam's content knowledge. He had an ability to put his understanding into
layman's terms that helped sophomores to understand deep themes and dark satire in a way that could
be digested by a 15 year old, but in a way that could also hopefully bloom as the student grew in their
understanding of literature and the world. Like casting seeds to the soil, Adam created lessons that
encouraged critical thinking and student engagement with the text. His lessons were fun and fostered
not only student participation but student generation of questions and ideas. Whether it was
“Hotseating” students and testing their knowledge of character, creating a pot of questions for review,
or creating a class lottery to highlight Shirley Jackson’s themes in “The Lottery”, Adam encouraged
students to feel empowered in their learning as well as guiding them via assessment to master certain
skills in a very fun environment. There was a thematic connectedness to every unit that gave fluidity to
the curriculum.
Adam is creative in how he teaches, even using a song from Timbaland entitled “The Way I Are” to
teach sentence structure and other grammatical skills. He has used comic strips and film clips to foster
critical thinking and personal student connection with older texts. He is well aware of the students'
needs for variety and works to interest students on many levels.

Additionally, Adam plans activities that all students can participate in. He varies the type of assignment
to include a variety of learning styles, personality types and student ability. Due to how different
classes can have different reactions to the same assignment, Adam is aware of the need to change in
order to accommodate that. Our 6th hour was especially wearisome this year, and Adam was constantly
willing to think on his feet and create lessons that were engaging for both regular and honors students.
This shows his flexibility as well as his level of understanding concerning the person of a student.
There are several students with special needs in his classes, and he worked hard to change lessons in
order to accommodate their needs. Adam's willingness to meet one on one with students during lunch
and after school shows a warmth and understanding for the various backgrounds and sometimes tedious
situations in which our students might find themselves entrenched. He was always willing to help and
encouraged students to see him, granted they took the initiative to meet with him. He allowed students
to take extra time on tests and would change an assignment if a student had a “better” essay question.
Adam always kept the students at the center of his educational focus.

Students know that they have to be accountable for their own work, which I think helps them realize
personal responsibility. Adam keeps a weekly calendar of each day's work in the front of the room so
that students may check on class work and assignments, posting due dates and important messages
online as well. Adam comes prepared every day, so his students know his expectations and have ample
opportunity to produce in kind. Students find him to be very approachable and he takes time to answer
any question that needs to be addressed. Negative comments in class are not tolerated and Adam works
hard to make sure that everyone feels safe and accepted, not to mention understood. Adam leads by
example instead of force, though management needs both to maintain students. However, as Adam
continues to grow, so will the flavor and student body in his classroom.

Adam works very well with other staff members and participates in all staff and department meetings,
even attending an after school seminar for a pilot program concerning zero grading that two teachers in
our district that want to present their idea to instructional counsel. He wants to be a part of the
academic dialogue as well as the culture of the school. During parent teacher conferences, Adam took
the lead right away in discussions concerning student achievement, handling parent interaction
personally and professionally. He was very adept at answering questions, exhibiting excellent
interpersonal skills. Adam has a good understanding of each of his students and was able to articulate
those strengths and weaknesses to the parents.

I value Adam as a person and colleague. In our discussions, he always brings up astute and often
humorous points, providing a healthy mix of humanness and professionalism that helps any teacher
bloom. Adam is extremely open to suggestions, and will immediately conform his lessons to what the
district, department, and I want at the drop of a hat, also including his own fingerprint for good
showing. He has very high ideals and standards for himself. He strives to succeed in all aspects of our
profession, and has a sincere and reflective nature that will only prove to evolve his career. I am
confident that Adam will make an incredible contribution to education.

Jennifer LeRoy
Everett High School