March 25, 2021

To whom it may concern:

It is with extremely mixed emotions that I recommend Veronica Sawyer to serve as an English
teacher. That may not be the most common opening to a letter of recommendation that 100% supports a
candidate, but I am selfishly struggling with what the loss of Ms. Sawyer will mean for our students,
parents, and her colleagues. Veronica is an outstanding teacher that came to us with a great deal of skill
and has only grown. We tossed Ms. Sawyer into the deep end teaching a double block, gifted class of
Humanities that combines English I Pre-AP and World History AP togher. Ms. Sawyer was so strong with
her curriculum knowledge of English, she had no problem adapting her content to fit into the context of
the Humanities.
While she has not served as a team leader, you wouldn’t know that if you saw her working with
her collaborative team. She is fully engaged in continuous improvement as she and her peers work
through the essential questions of Dufour's PLC model. One thing that stands out is how she is able to
discern when to step up and lead her team and when to fall in line behind the lead of someone else to
help push their vision forward. In my experience, this is one of the most crucial attributes of a leader. Ms.
Sawyer’s specific teaching assignment requires even more teamwork than most teaching positions
because the added pressure of co-teaching requires additional time and planning to sync up with each
teaching partner and her English peer. In my time at Jasper High School, working with the English
Department and directly supervising Veronica as her support administrator, I have come to know
someone that gives her all to the job enhancing everyone around her.
When it comes to working with students, Ms. Sawyer strikes a rare and delicate balance across
crucial domains of education. The first domain is a passion for her content. Ms. Sawyer puts her passion
for English on the forefront that contagiously spreads through her students. That passion is blended with
a drive for quality pedagogy. It is rare that Ms. Sawyer is implementing the same lesson from the previous
class, let alone the previous year. She works diligently to improve the curriculum and instruction in her
classroom, among her teammates, and across the district. The next domain that is rare to find in
conjunction with the previous two is a love for all students. Her students report feeling safe, respected,
and valued in her classroom. Through the curriculum and her classroom systems, she works to develop
deep rapport with her students that she uses to get the best out of students. Her connections with her
students has also been a valuable asset at the campus level as her students trust her to report dangerous
behaviors. Ms. Sawyer has a passion for working with all students whether it is her GT/AP Humanities
students, or her On-Level English students.
I cannot fathom a campus that Veronica Sawyer would not make a significant impact. I
unreservedly recommend her for a position teaching English.

Sincerely,

Brad Bailey
Assistant Principal
Jasper HS, Plano ISD