Fairfield City Schools

Dear Fellow Educator,

I am writing in support of Melissa Hess, who worked as a math intervention teacher with students in the English as a Second Language program at Fairfield Middle School.  I have had the privilege of observing Mrs. Hess in her classes and consulting with her regarding effective ways to meet our students' needs.  We have been fortunate to have her in our district.

Melissa joined our faculty when we needed to add an ESL math teacher.  We did not have an ESL math program in place, so if fell to Melissa to assess students' needs, determine which of the Ohio math standards they needed to work on, and design instruction to meet their needs.  Using math materials which we purchased for these students, Melissa created an effect program.  In developing this program, Melissa demonstrated the following attributes:

• She familiarized herself with Ohio's Academic Content Standards for Mathematics in the middle grades.
• She learned the features of the new math instructional materials and developed effective ways to integrate hands-on activities with print materials.
• She organized an office, set up files, and fine-tuned a pull-out schedule for students.
• She worked with other teachers in the building to coordinate her instruction with the lessons that some ESL students were receiving in regular math classes.
• She tracked students' progress and modified her teaching to maximize student success.
• She established a classroom environment based on trust, mutual respect, cooperation, and the freedom to learn from one's mistakes.
• She supported the social needs of ESL students to assist in their integration into the school and American culture.
• She worked with the other ESL teacher in the school in planning and administering mandatory states tests of language acquisition (OTELA) and the state achievement tests in selected content areas.
• She worked well with other teachers and with administrators in the building.

Melissa has conducted herself in a professional manner and has worked hard to provide her students with a high quality instructional program.  In doing this, she demonstrated the qualities that are associated with an effective teacher.

Sincerely,

Carol M. Hallman, Ph.D.

Secondary Curriculum Coordinator

 

More reference letters available upon request.

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