March 27, 2018 Ms. Annette Schimizzi Penn High School 56100 Bittersweet Road Mishawaka, IN 46545 ‘To Whom It May Concern: Itis my honor and pleasure to provide this letter of recommendation for Caitlin Callaghan. I have known Caitlin for two years, including one year of sharing a Professional Learning Community for 10" grade English teachers during the 2016-17 school year. Throughout my experience with Caitlin I have witnessed her quick adaptability to Penn’s culture and expectations, her creativity with lesson planning and strategies, and her genuine care for the myriad needs of our students. Penn High School is a nationally renowned, Four Star school. As English teachers, adapting to this culture can be overwhelming. Caitlin quickly adapted to these expectations, including maintaining a high level of communication with students’ homes and with various colleagues within the school. In the classroom, Caitlin employs creative and interactive strategies. Creativity can often get sidelined by the demands of high-stakes testing, but her fresh perspective with difficult texts was a breath of fresh air for her colleagues and students alike. For example, while teaching Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Caitlin employed an aspect of social media to frame a complex concept from the play. As a result, I observed her students debating in the hallway about the characters — even citing quotes from the text. Many students are excited to leave English class, not continue it in the hallway. Finally, I found it remarkable that after exceeding all of these expectations as a newcomer to Penn, Caitlin still found the time to run two after- school groups for students: Knitting Club and Gender Sexuality Alliance. I believe Caitlin is a whole-package educator, and any school she is a part of will be better with her leadership and expertise. Sincerely, avin AA Annette Schimi; English Teacher Penn High School aschimizzi@phm.k12.in.us i