King Elementary

Des Moines Public Schools

1849 Forest Avenue; Des Moines, Iowa 50314

Phone (515) 242-8417 Fax (515) 323-8628
Kisha Barnes, Principal Laura Cannon, Dean of Students

May 8, 2019

To whom it may concern:

I am writing this letter of recommendation for Lori Staples. Lori is an instructional coach at King
Elementary in Des Moines. As the Dean of Students, I have the opportunity to work with Lori in
a variety of settings to collaborate, observe, and engage in the work that Lori supports. Lori is
well organized, data driven, and works to develop relationships with both students and staff that
she supports in the building. Lori is an asset to climate and culture in our building, one example
of this is that she is the buildings lead for the districts Healthy You, which supports staff physical
and mental well-being.
Lori is also part of the leadership team in our building serving in multiple roles. Lori leads
teacher groups in PLC’s using systems and procedures to analyze data and leads teachers to use
the data to guide instruction. Lori supports the planning and implementation of the curriculum by
coaching, modeling, and providing feedback to teachers through coaching cycles and written
feedback. Not only does Lori support teachers academically, but also supports the
implementation of the conditions for learning, helping to teachers to use an equity lens when
planning for instruction, and classroom management.
As a member of the leadership team, Lori is helping to create systems within in the building to
maximize student achievement. Lori is on the instructional leadership team, which plans
professional development for staff, collects data to monitor implementation and fidelity of
systems, and is the testing coordinator for our building, which allows for data collection that
supports student evidence.
Lori continues to grow professionally as she will soon complete her Educational Specialist
Degree in Educational Leadership at Drake University. Lori uses the information and research
learned to apply directly to the work that she does at King.
Lori as the skills, knowledge, and abilities to serve in multiple roles as a leader, teacher, and
coach. If you have further questions regarding Lori Staples, you can contact me at
laura.cannon@dmschools.org or by phone 563.380.9045 (cell).

Sincerely,
Laura Cannon
Dean of Students King Elementary
Des Moines Public Schools

Respect: Yourself, Others, and Our

Environment