MEMO TO: FROM: To Whom It May Concern Ronald Sallade, Student Teacher Supervisor, School of Education, Drake University,

Des Moines, Iowa

SUBJECT: Employment Recommendation for Trevor Mickelson, Student Teacher, Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, Spring Semester 2012 DATE: April 5, 2012

This is a letter of recommendation very enthusiastically supporting employment for Trevor Mickelson, a student teacher at Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, who will become a fully certified Master's Degree level teacher in May 2012. I have been supervisor of Trevor's student teaching during the Spring Semester, 2012. Trevor's student teaching assignment has been three sections of 11th-grade American History and will include two sections of Psychology at Waukee High School, a comprehensive high school in Waukee, Iowa, a suburban community west of Des Moines, Iowa. In brief, Trevor is a very successful student teacher: setting his lessons in context; providing direct instruction in an effective manner; actively engaging students in a purposeful way; using a variety of instructional approaches; appropriately checking for students understanding; and re-teaching. Trevor creates an active, positive classroom environment and puts forth considerable effort to achieve his desired outcome. Trevor's students are engaged, and his classroom is very well managed. Trevor conducts himself as a professional in every respect. Trevor Mickelson's lesson plans are well prepared and interconnect appropriately with the course curriculum. In preparing lessons Trevor has a thorough knowledge of the text and relevant vocabulary as well as seeks and uses supplemental materials from resource books, the Internet, and the library. In American History, Trevor planned and implemented a variety of units concerned with the American Industrial Revolution, the Progressive Era and World War I. Trevor utilized a variety of activities that consisted of both individual and group work. Trevor Mickelson very ably employs a variety of instructional strategies. He uses direct instruction, group collaboration, small group work, problem-based instruction, web-based assignments, and more. Another hallmark of Trevor's teaching is the depth of information and the detail he provides in his lessons. Students are very responsive to Trevor. They benefit from positive interactive rapport with him. Trevor demonstrates a decided self-confidence which is an important part of his strong teacher image. Students know that he is helping them and readily accept his instruction. Trevor and his students obviously benefit from mutual respect. Students are actively engaged, attentive to his, readily volunteer, and are on-task. His explanations are clear. Trevor's students like him, are comfortable with him, and have a high opinion of

him. Trevor has a unique, effective way of leveling with students who are off-task and need additional support and re-direction. The learning strategies he employed were decidedly effective. Trevor Mickelson is a unique and exceptionally qualified candidate for a high school teaching position. One of Trevor's major strengths is his focused, high-energy approach to teaching. Another is his broad certification in a number of areas: in all social studies (5th grade through 12th grade) and in Journalism/Mass Communication, and business. Trevor has an undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, finishing in 2009. At that time his emphasis was in the areas of public relations, business, and Spanish. A third decided strength is his dedication to his field. During the past several years, Trevor has done considerable to gain useful experience that will help him with student teaching and enhance his career in education. For example, during the past three years, he has volunteered at Urbandale High School as a 9th-grade boys basketball coach. This is also a good experience as he is learning to work with a variety of students toward a common goal. Also, he has coached students who are aged 15 and younger over the summer. Both of these experiences provided him the opportunity to work with young people outside of the classroom in a relaxed environment that still taught him valuable skills that will be useful in the classroom. To further enhance his skills for the classroom, he has worked as a substitute teacher for the Urbandale and Waukee Community School Districts. He served as a substitute for a wide variety of subjects and gained invaluable experience within the school setting. One of Trevor Mickelson's mentor teachers for his first placement at Waukee High School, Scott Carlson, has assessed him with Proficient or "Advanced Expertise" on each of the ten student teaching criteria on the University's Final Evaluation. Needless to say, this is an outstanding assessment. Trevor's interpersonal skills (active listening, clearly understood voice, effective eye contact) are especially effective and obviously an important part of his communication with students. He is often circulating throughout his classroom. I am quite impressed by Trevor's easy, interactional repartee with students and his ability to capture and synthesize students ideas during discussion. Typically, those abilities are evident later in a teachers career. In relation to extra-curricular activities while a beginning teacher, Trevor would be interested in coaching baseball and basketball. He would also be interested in leading or assisting in any group that focuses on leadership and service. Also, he would be very interested in being a class sponsor, or working with Student Council, National Honor Society or Debate or Speech as a co-sponsor. Trevor Mickelson actively demonstrates technological competence in several instances: word processing to create lesson plans as well as a variety of materials; in recording and archiving students grades; developing PowerPoint presentations; and in using the Internet to gain more information regarding topics for use in his classroom. Trevor is

quite technologically intuitive and would readily use any of the technology available to his to enhance his students learning experiences. In short, Trevor Mickelson is a very effective, successful teacher. As a former central office administrator and student teaching supervisor for the last seven years since retirement, I consider Trevor Mickelson an exceptional candidate. He is decidedly impressive. Overall, I would rank his in the top ten percent of beginning teachers. He has a decided commitment and will make a very significant difference. Ultimately his goals are to attain a certification as an administrator and serve as a Director of Athletics. I would like to see him serve in the role of either middle school or high school principal. I very enthusiastically recommend Trevor Mickelson for any teaching position for which he is qualified and certified. If representatives from school districts have questions or would like more information, they are invited to contact me personally: Ronald Sallade, Ph. D. Student Teaching Supervisor Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa 3715 SW 28th Street Des Moines, IA 50321-2024 515.285.6219 Home 515.249.5627 Daytime Mobile RonaldSall@aol.com