1801 East Cotati Ave Rohnert Park, CA 94928

Monday, April 25, 2016

To Whom It May Concern:
I am honored to write a letter of recommendation for Jacob Boulais for a secondary school English
Language Arts teaching position. I have been Mr. Boulaiss instructor for the Sonoma State
University single subject credential courses Teaching in the English Content Area and Seminar in Student
Teaching.
Mr. Boulais is the teacher who teaches because he loves to learn, just the kind of role model you
want students to see. If you were to walk into his classroom, I believe you would see an engaging
talented new teacher, creating animated and meaningful conversations with his students about
themes and ideas taken from whatever text is central to the lesson at hand. There would be a sense
of community; a shared understanding that what each student has to say increases the knowledge
base for everyone in the room, including the teacher.
For example, Mr. Boulais when teaching Lord of The Flies, wanted students to closely read the scene
in chapter nine describing Simons death. In addition to assuring comprehension of the events, he
designed the lesson for students to analyze and interpret the impact on the characters and on the
plot outcome of the novel, as well as to draw conclusions about our humanity in dark moments. It
was a picture perfect Common Core lesson of a structured close reading analysis of text. What made
this lesson extraordinary was the written character dialogue assignment at the end of the reading that
invited the students to analyze the chapter and creatively present a well evidenced telling of the
story, not from the readers point of view, but from character present at the scene. This was a
formative assessment par excellence.
Mr. Boulais would be an advocate for students, for all learners, for the school, the school
community, and his school faculty. Professional development is such a key component of these
educational times. Teachers are asked to analyze student work, develop CCSS curriculum and
learning strategies, collaborate with colleagues, communicate goals to families and students
themselves, as well as love the day to day of teaching. I am confident Mr. Boulais would meet these
expectations thoughtfully and with a smile of appreciation.
It is a privilege and a pleasure to recommend Jacob Boulais. Please contact me with any questions.
Sincerely,
Susan Hirsch

Department of Curriculum Studies and Secondary Education Sonoma State University

707-799-6091
susan.hirsch@sonoma.edu