Reid Bethea Ed.S. Dexter Mack Ed.S.

Principal Assistant Principal

John Buxton, Ed.S.

Assistant Principal

To whom it may concern,

It is my privilege to recommend my colleague, Magen Douglas, to receive the Teacher of the

Year award for our district. Magen has been teaching at Johnson County Middle School for the past

eleven years, and I have been fortunate enough to know her for the last five. We have served together as

departmental colleagues at the middle high school as well as on the district instructional technology

team and as coaches for the middle and high school tennis programs. Over the course of our time

together, Magen has played an integral role in my development as an educator and coach.

Magen is one of those teachers that you happen upon every once in a good while. Her dedication

to the field is evident through the lasting relationships that she builds with her students, her open door

policy to help other educators, and her constant drive to improve her personal instructional practices by

implementing the latest instructional strategies and technologies. As she strives for excellence in all that

she does, she manages to encourage and support others do the same. On many occasions, I have

witnessed Magen put her personal agenda aside to prioritize assisting other educators with lesson

planning, behavior management strategies, technology integration, or whatever else may arise.

Students love and admiration for Magen is obvious as they continuously return to her classroom

for visits throughout the remainder of their time at the middle and high school. The classroom

community that Magen builds each year is one that fosters student growth through consistent and firm

behavioral and academic expectations. She strives to ensure that all students know they are loved,

respected, and that they belong within her classroom. As a coach, Magen manages to cultivate this same

environment on the courts. She is welcoming to players of all levels and backgrounds and works to
ensure that everyone is afforded the opportunity to improve in the game. Just as many colleagues look to

Magen for guidance and support, students and players do as well.

Magen is also highly respected by parents. As she builds relationships with the students and

places their success as the highest priority, she remains in constant contact with parents. She

demonstrates patience and understanding in all situations.Through her recent work as a leader on the

Academic Parent Teacher Team, she is again paving the way for school improvement through attempting

to reach and further engage parents.

Magen currently serves on the district instructional technology team and leadership team. As a

member of the instructional technology team myself, I have been privy to Magen’s commitment to our

community through her work to help all stakeholders utilize and benefit from technology. She brings an

organizational element as well as strong problem solving abilities that our team as a whole relies on in

our endeavor to implement, share, and reach our goals each year. In an effort to further her own

instructional practices as well as our schools, Magen is currently working towards her Masters in

Instructional Technology. She seeks opportunities to share strategies and technologies that she

encounters with her colleagues as she leads multiple professional development sessions each year, and

she often pulls double duty as technical support for others in the building. As a part of the leadership

team, she also works closely with other leaders in the district to make our school system the best it can

be.

I highly recommend Magen as teacher of the year for our district. Magen has found her calling in

life, and our school and community has been tremendously blessed by her dedication and commitment.

I can say without reservation that she is fully deserving of this honor and recognition. If you have any

more questions regarding Magen, I would be happy to comply. My email address is

brittany_oliver@johnson.k12.ga.us.

Sincerely,
Brittany Oliver
JCHS Math Department