Molly House

Reading/Writing Consultant

4601 Kingman Blvd. Des Moines, Iowa 50311

(H) 515-255-9565 (C) 515-975-7076
molly@netins.net

January 3, 2016

To Whom It May Concern:

I am honored to write a letter of recommendation for Lisa Battisone for a teaching position in the your
district. Her resume clearly shows her experiences aligned to the educational field. I have recently been her
college professor at Drake University in Secondary Reading and Interdisciplinary Curriculum. This class
prepares content area teachers to understand the key literacy instructional strategies that support the learning
of all students in their content area.
She has a strong understanding of the Gradual Release of Responsibility model in comprehension, writing,
fluency, and vocabulary. She has implemented these lessons in her practicum and while working in
classrooms. She has learned multiple Writing To Learn strategies that engage students, help them process
their learning, and then be able to demonstrate understanding with a final writing project. She embeds them
systemically in her English/SPED classroom teaching. Her reflections around these implementation
opportunities clearly show her ability to excel in teaching and learning. She is able to use the daily writing of
students to get formative data to help plan next steps. She is an excellent candidate to teach your students.
What really makes me very willing and eager to write this letter is Lisas approach to learning, questioning
for clarity and her collaborative skills. My class is based on learning together and teaching peers through
collaboration. Lisa is well versed in initiating questions, including all people in the group, and organizing the
work for reporting out. She understands that professional educators dont go to a Professional Learning
Community. They are a Professional Learning Community every minute of every day.
Having been the Secondary Literacy Coordinator for Des Moines Public Schools, I would hire Lisa
immediately as she understands that the what she teaches is English/SPED and the how she teaches is
literacy based.
Please feel free to call me with any questions.
Sincerely,

Molly House
Reading Writing Consultant