From Former H.M.S. Principal: Arlene Miguel
5/5/2014
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Cara Sanchez. Cara worked as a reading specialist/coach at Hampden Meadows School when I was the School Principal and her supervisor. I had known and worked with Cara for several years in this capacity.
When Cara arrived at Hampden Meadows she gained immediate respect from her peers. Her knowledge base regarding instruction is impeccable. Yet, she was in no way intimidating to her colleagues. She became viewed as a valuable resource to both teachers and students…and, indeed, to the Principal as well.
Cara is an educational leader. She needed little or no direction to perform her job. Her decisions about instruction were appropriate; her willingness to go above and beyond was evident. She often spent many hours beyond her school day preparing professional development for her colleagues or looking at student assessments to drive her instruction. As part of the school leadership team, she often had insight to a dilemma and offered solutions to problems.
Do not misinterpret Cara’s soft-spoken nature as a weakness. She is strong in her beliefs and solid in her decisions. Her quiet approach was often most successful in effecting positive change.
Finally, the students learned from this exceptional teacher. She made connections with them and used her knowledge to help them. She extended their learning with deep questions and thinking strategies. She promoted higher order thinking and changed an approach if it was not effective.
Cara is a collaborator, a learner, and consistently moves forward in her own growth. It is without ANY hesitation that I recommend her for this position, which will serve as anotheer opportunity to learn and to share her learning with her colleagues. The district is fortunate to have her as a professional.
Sincerely,
Arlene C. Miguel
Principal
From Barrington Literacy Coordinator/R.T.I. Specialist: Kristen Matthes
May 7, 2014
To Whom It May Concern:
I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation for Cara Sanchez to support her application for the Enrichment Specialist/Instructional Coach position at Sowams School. I have worked with Cara for many years in our district as a fellow teacher and as the District Literacy Coordinator. I have had the opportunity to work closely with Cara on many district and school teams and initiatives.
On each team that Cara has served on, she has shown that she is truly a collaborative change agent. She is a strong advocate for doing “whatever it takes” to ensure student success. She possesses the ability to listen deeply to all points of view, question and clarify for true understanding, reflect and then articulately summarize for the group. She skillfully takes in lots of information, clears the clutter and then shares it in a way that makes sense to her colleagues. This leads to meaningful problem solving and effective decision-making.
During collaborative team meetings, Cara demonstrates excellent facilitation skills. She provides structures and guidance to help her fellow teachers actively engage in shared and valuable work.She gently probes and questions in a way that pushes the team to higher levels of thinking. As an ELA Curriculum Point person for Hampden Meadows, she has led her fellow curriculum writers in the work of developing and designing Common Core aligned instructional materials and assessments for the recently implemented ELA curriculum. Her guidance has helped teachers effectively look at student work and also review screening and progress monitoring data in order to make deliberate instructional moves. Cara genuinely respects the teachers that she works with and they very much respect her.
Cara’s interpersonal skills are a huge asset for our district. She is highly skilled at building relationships with the students and the adults in Barrington’s learning community. She cares deeply about the people that she works with. She has high expectations for herself and the students and teachers that she works with.I highly recommend her for the position of Enrichment Specialist/Insttructional Coach. She will be a wonderful addition to the Sowams school community.
Kristen Matthes
Literacy Coordinator