February 7, 2020

To Whom It May Concern,

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Susan Smith. I have known Susan since August of 2016 when
she was appointed as an assistant principal at Mountain View Middle School in the Sumner Bonney Lake School District. As I was the
school’s principal, Susan became my administrative partner for the following 3 years, until my retirement in June of 2019. As Susan
continues at Mountain View in the same role during the 2019 - 2020 school year, her impact on the entire school community remains
powerful. Susan is simply the finest and most trusted administrative partner I have ever had the pleasure to know. She is energetic,
creative, brilliant and knowledgeable. Susan remains calm under pressure and her ability to think quickly when it is required is
unmatched.

Susan’s impact on our Multi Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) was significant, as her ability to create a vision for tier 2 and tier 3
systems of support was outstanding. During the time we worked together at Mountain View, Susan provided strong leadership for our
Student Success Dean, our Behavior Family Support Specialist and our Guidance Counselors, with a clear expectation for them to
create protocols and accountability for our MTSS systems. Susan also encouraged and modeled strategies to organize and facilitate
outcome based, data driven meetings with teachers, students and families when identifying, implementing and evaluating tier 2 and tier
3 interventions to support students. Susan’s determination and hard work assisted our staff to strive to a more refined level of
implementing proactive classroom management strategies, and how to effectively respond to problematic student behaviors. Susan
helped teachers better collaborate around challenges that students present and how to effectively analyze collected data that
accurately reflected outcomes of student support systems.

Susan also had a huge impact on our student leadership programs. In addition to her excellent oversight of our school’s ASB, Susan
created a student congress in order to increase the number and diversity of student input regarding daily life at Mountain View. It was
not only important to Susan to acknowledge student ideas, but to also act on their input. Congress increased student trust in adults and
had a positive impact on school climate. Additionally, Susan’s leadership of our school’s Wolf Pride Team was outstanding. This team
promoted and monitored our school - wide PBIS incentives, tracked and analyzed SWIS data for behavior referrals, and made
recommendations for assemblies and school initiatives. The work of this team under Susan’s leadership made a positive difference in
our school’s climate and culture.

Susan’s passion for students is boundless and kids simply love her – even when she had to hold them accountable to their behavior
choices. Her demeanor with parents was honest, professional and compassionate. Susan simply had a way with people that reduced
anxiety, tension and conflict in order to resolve all issues, big or small. During my time working with Susan, I did not receive one
concern from a parent, a student or staff member regarding her professional approach and personal demeanor. I thoroughly trusted
Susan to always make wise decisions and to effectively resolve issues at the lowest level possible.

Susan demonstrated effective administrative leadership regarding curriculum alignment and instructional supervision. During my
partnership with Susan, she worked closely with our science and ELA teachers. Susan’s ability to work side by side with individual
teachers and professional learning communities reinforced strong collaboration among teacher teams and student results on state and
classroom based assessments. Susan’s vast experience with EVAL as an assessment tool and her deep knowledge of the Danielson
Framework for Teaching positioned her to facilitate meaningful and impactful conversations with staff regarding teaching and learning.

Susan Smith is deserving of my highest recommendation as a candidate and prospective contributor to your administrative team. She
is always focused on the needs of students, she is an effective communicator with all constituents and her ability to lead and motivate
staff is exemplary. Susan’s positive outlook and growth mindset serve her well when working with challenging students, parents and
staff.

If you need to contact me for any further information, please reach me at 206 940-5181 or cohurst1@gmail.com.

Curtis Hurst
Retired Principal
Sumner Bonney Lake School District