April 10, 2023

Warm Greetings,

I was so excited to learn that Breanna Lujan is applying for a science teaching position in your district.
Breanna is a great young teacher and you will definitely want to hire her!
I have known Breanna for nearly two years, primarily as her methods course instructor and in her role in
the CalTeach program student leadership. I have had the opportunity to watch her development across a
broad range of areas including her social justice and equity stance, her lesson/curriculum design, and her
implementation of instruction that is culturally responsive, rigorous, and aligned with CCSS and NGSS.
Breanna is an excellent candidate for your position for a number of reasons, including her completion of
the CalTeach program at UC Irvine. CalTeach is a rigorous 4-year math or science bachelors plus credential
program. Through the program, students engage in classroom observation and teaching at the elementary,
middle school, and high school levels, accruing over 700 hours of classroom experience before graduating.
In Breanna’s case, she also worked as a tutor, and supported her peers as the publicity chair of the student
advisory board, where she helped get the word out about community building events.

Breanna is highly committed to teaching and improving science learning for all students. She entered the
CalTeach program as many others do with limited understanding of what culturally responsive and relevant
science instruction should look like. Breanna developed markedly, transforming her initial naive approaches
to thoughtful approaches that promoted learning and equity for her students. Her development is reflected in
the lessons she planned and taught, which involved moving away from rote lecture based approaches to
ones that made science matter to students. For example, Breanna had to teach a lesson on homeostasis. To
make the lesson relevant to students, she focused on something that was interesting to students, food and the
feeling of being hungry. Students began by thinking about what it feels like to be hungry and full, and how
the body reacts to these conditions. She used this as an opening and anchor to engage students in the deeper
science involved with homeostasis. Similarly, when it came time to teach about photosynthesis, Breanna
used recent Southern California heat waves that students experienced, to build context and relevance for her
students. These lessons also reflect Breanna’s deep commitment to equity and justice in the classroom in
terms of both access to learning, as well as raising important social issues related to science.

In closing, as a former science teacher, school administrator, and now university instructor and program
director, I find Breanna to be very well equipped and well positioned to begin her teaching journey. She is
eager to teach and learn! Breanna will be a great addition and immediate contributor to any school and
department that hires her. She has my strongest recommendation. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you
have any additional questions, or if I can provide you with additional insights into Breanna.

Sincerely,

Doron Zinger Ph.D.

Director of CalTeach
University of California, Irvine