29 May 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great pleasure that I enthusiastically recommend to you Ms. Jennifer Stone as a
Spanish teacher in your school district. I have known and worked with Jen for eight
years. She was my advisee in the world languages teacher certification cohort at The
University of Michigan, and I have had the distinct pleasure of having Jen as a student in
four courses.
Jen is a wonderfully unique type of student to have in class. She is literally like a sponge
as she soaks in the new material and ideas, yet she approaches her work with a critical
lens that one does not often see in a new teacher. She pushes back at theories that seem
to her inappropriate, yet is always willing to experiment and design lessons that are
creative and intriguing for the students. She is currently student teaching at a middle
school here in Ann Arbor, and it is one of our schools that serves a lower socioeconomic
population. Jen is thriving in this environment and is creating learning experiences that
are powerful, deep and very student-centered.
Jen is not, however, simply a classroom teacher; rather, she is a whole school teacher.
When she has special needs students in her classroom, Jen is intent upon doing all that is
possible to build a bridge between her lessons and the needs and capabilities of the
student. When she has students who are active in athletics or student government, she
goes out of her way to let her students know that she does indeed see them outside the
sometimes confining boundaries of the Spanish classroom. Jen attempts to learn as much
as she can about her students so that she can offer them the best possible classroom
experience.
Secondary education ought to be about many things, not the least of which is
encouragingand requiringstudents to stretch their intellectual wings. Jen offers
students her diverse and deep background in the Spanish language and cultures and
invites them to explore these rich ideas that inform our understanding of our world. She
demands excellence and continuous improvement from her students, and she gets it
precisely because she holds such high expectations for them. With Jen as their teacher
and coach, the students invariably adopt those very same rigorous expectations for
themselves. I can think of no higher praise for a teacher.
The aspect of Jens work and personality that I most admire, however, goes far beyond
her classroom performances. Jen is one of the few people I have met who is genuinely
and completely open to new experiences. Most of us can say that we are, to a certain
extent, receptive to new ideas, people and cultures; Jen, however, is absolutely without
preconceived notions or preconception about those experiences, and this very character
trait renders her uniquely able to grow, explore and develop as a person when she is
placed in a new and unfamiliar situation.

Jen will be a true gift to her students and her faculty colleagues wherever she chooses to
teach. She will be open, generous of heart and spirit, and will give of her experiences,
skills and talents. She will work ceaselessly to ensure that she brings daily value,
affirmation and high expectations to all of her students, and will be the type of model that
we wish all of our teachers could be.
I simply cannot express to you how highly I regard Jen, both as a person and as a teacher.
Jen will truly be the change we wish to see in the world and will work tirelessly every
day to bring the best of both her heart and intellect to her students.
Sincerely,

Maria J. Coolican, Ph.D.

mariajc@umich.edu
734.417.6806