Arlee Joint School District No.

8
72220 Fyant St. Arlee, Montana 59821 (406)726-3216 Fax (406)726-3940

Accessible Responsive Learning Environment for Excellence

Trustees: Shelly Fyant Chairperson Rick Desjarlais Vice-Chairperson Richard Bachmeier Trustee Kris Gardner Trustee Tom Haynes Trustee Administrative Staff: George Linthicum Superintendent Don Holst Elementary Principal Jim Taylor JHS/HS Principal

6 April 2014 To Whom It May Concern: I am writing in support of Janelle Schmit, an applicant to your district. Janelle was my student in ENT 442: Methods of Teaching Oral Language and Media Literacy. Janelle would make a strong addition to your teaching staff. She is innovative and thoughtful about her lessons. For example, she created a unit plan using the classic young adult novel The Outsiders. This unit incorporated best practices in oral language instruction such as a Socratic circle, a recorded character interview, and other protocols that engage students while providing a structured discussion setting. She incorporated instruction on media-driven stereotypes and the juvenile justice system. With feedback, she turned her initial unit plan into something really valuable, one that Id be pleased to have my own child benefit from. The way Janelle received feedback also demonstrated her responsiveness to direction. Janelle will value any mentoring you offer and implement the ideas meaningfully. She revisited a few of her assignments in my class in order to make them more streamlined and effective for students. Please know that revisiting assignments is encouraged in my class and should not be taken as a sign of poor workmanship. I would say that Janelle embodies the opposite: a strong work ethic and willingness to learn. One of the most memorable characteristics of Janelles experience in my class was that she is not naturally extroverted and in fact found the discussion-based features of the class challenging. In my opinion this was one of the most significant aspects of the course for Janelle because she had to overcome some of her shyness in order to participate, but she also spoke for more reserved students like herself when we discussed how to motivate quiet students in our classes. I offer my strong support for Janelle Schmit as a candidate for employment as a teacher in your district. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further information. Sincerely,

Anna E. Baldwin, Ed.D. 2014 Montana Teacher of the Year Arlee English Teacher, Department Chair