SIERRA ny NEVADA vance | UNIVERSITY Amy Burton, Ed.D. 1458 Highland Pines Dr. Reno, NV 89503 aburton@sierranevada.edy May 6, 2020 To whom it may concern: | am writing to recommend Alyssa Stringer for a K-8 teaching position. | have known Alyssa for two years ‘as her mentor while she earned her teaching degree from Sierra Nevada University (SNU) through the Nevada alternative route to licensure program. During those two years, Alyssa and | met regularly to plan, observe, and debrief her instruction using the Nevada Educators Performance Framework and the ‘SNU observation feedback forms and lesson plan template. | observed Alyssa while she was teaching sixth and seventh grade social studies and English language arts at the Mater Academy in Reno, NV. have worked as an instructional coach for the past decade and as an education professor for the past five years. | also served in the classroom for 20 years prior to that. In those roles | have worked with many veteran and novice teachers. Therefore, | feel qualified to say that Alyssa is an exceptionally ‘competent instructor and reflective learner. What impressed me instantly about Alyssa as a student teacher was her ability to maintain a positive, calm, caring rapport with her students through efficient classroom management. This allowed her to focus on her instruction. But, more impressive, was Alyssa’s desire to challenge herself to move beyond effective instruction to a focus on student learning, to become a facilitator of learning in partnership with her students. Alyssa was fearless in her willingness to take risks and learn from her mistakes and successes with myself as her reflective partner and coach. She is metacognitive and open to feedback. With each planning/observe/ debrief session, | observed consistent growth toward her personal learning goal of supporting student metacognition and transformative learning. She learned to be an evaluator of her impact on her students’ learning. Alyssa learned to backwards plan her units, identify and communicate the learning targets and essential questions to her students, pre-assess and formatively assess their learning progress, and use that student learning data to inform her instruction. Alyssa grew to value success criteria which she shared with her students to support their own metacognition. She learned to provide individualized feedback, and to engage in dialogue with her students rather than monologue. With this background knowledge and her evidence of consistent shift in practice, Alyssa will soon be differentiating for her students as needed. Alyssa progressed from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning: her own learning and that of her students »‘Throughout our collaboration, Alyssa was professional, confident, and dependable. She never missed @ ‘meeting or a deadline. Alyssa also valued critical feedback and was able to adjust her practice in response. She demonstrated the interpersonal skills that will make her a valuable member of @ professional learning team and a reflective professional learner when working with a coach and/or administrator. In the middle of our second year of collaboration, the COVID-19 virus struck. Alyssa’s school shut down without warning, and all instruction went to an online platform with only two-days of professional development, During this stressful moment in educational history, Alyssa was amazingly calm. She did her best to provide her students meaningful learning support. Her ability to handle pressure and stress ‘was remarkable. | would hire Alyssa in a heartbeat, and | would trust her to teach my own children. Please contact me if, ‘you would like further information. Alyssa has my highest recommendation. Sincerely, Amy Burton, SNU Mentor