John Muir Elementary School

3301 South Horton Street

Seattle, Washington 98144
206-252-7400

May 30, 2020

To Whom It May Concern:

The following letter of recommendation is being written on behalf of Amari Putney-Blanton.

Amari was my intern during the 2019-2020 school year. I was also lucky to know Amari for two
years prior to his internship while he was a Special Education one-on-one Instructional Assistant
at John Muir. During these years, I had the pleasure of working with a caring, positive, and open-
minded individual. Amari always had a smile on his face and a warm greeting for his colleagues
and all of the students at John Muir. He built strong relationships with students and families from
grades K-5 and worked well with all staff members.

Amari had many different responsibilities and experiences as a counseling intern at John Muir.
He taught students about expectations in different areas of the school such as the lunchroom,
hallways, and bathroom. He educated students about what’s happening to our brains when we
“flip our lids”, what strategies we can use to prevent this flip from happening, and how we can
support others when their lids are flipped. He ran multiple small groups focusing on different
skill building topics (e.g., emotion regulation, friendship success). He problem-solved with and
deescalated countless students throughout the year. He was also an important part of our Tier II
team and teacher Help Desk.

Amari vastly improved our recess intervention program. This program involves a small group of
students participating in a structured, guided recess. During guided recess time, Amari was able
to help students strengthen lagging skills in order to be safe, successful, and happy upon their
return to the large recess. For this program, he also developed a referral process, scoring system,
and the fading requirements/progression. John Muir is very fortunate to be left with Amari’s
“Guided Lion Den’s Recess” handbook.

As I’m sure is obvious from my previous text, I would recommend Amari for a position as a
School Counselor. He would make a great addition to your team.

Sincerely,

Susan Shorr
School Counselor
spshorr@seattleschools.org
(206) 853-6973