Special Education

Department of Educational Studies

College of Education and Human Ecology
121 Ramseyer Hall
29 W. Woodruff Ave.
Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: 614-688-4007
Fiscal: 614-292-5182
HR: 614-688-3522
FAX: 614-688-3415
http://ehe.osu.edu/educational-studies/

November 20, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter on behalf of Ms. Haley Riddlebarger. I have had the pleasure of working with
Haley throughout her studies in the special education teacher preparation program. She was a student in
several of my classes and I also served as the faculty advisor for the Student Council for Exceptional
Children, a student organization in which Haley served as president. I am honored to write a letter of
recommendation for her because I believe she is a true asset to the profession of education and she
possesses many great leadership qualities.

Haley demonstrates several important characteristics that will make her a valuable addition to any team.
First, Haley has a wealth of experience working with children. She gained many skills through various
field experience courses in our program and she has also been employed as a lead teacher in a highquality daycare center. She always received positive ratings from her mentor teachers and supervisors
during fieldwork and she was passionate about her job at the daycare. Next, Haley was a strong student in
our program and the quality of her work was always outstanding. She often went above and beyond the
minimum requirements of the assignments. Finally, Haley works well as a team member and possesses
leadership qualities. She is very collaborative and I observed her being supportive and encouraging to
other students in our program on several occassions.

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Some of the critical skills Haley has demonstrated throughout our program include implementing
proactive and positive classroom management strategies, planning and implementing explicit instruction
lessons, writing observable and measurable goals and objectives, creating formative and summative
assessments to measure progress towards mastery criterion, collecting and analyzing ongoing progress
monitoring data, and using data to inform future instructional planning. During student teaching, Haley
will be required to complete the edTPA, which is the preservice teacher performance assessment. The
edTPA is very similar to the assessment she will complete within the Resident Educator Program;
therefore, she will be well prepared for this task. Additionally, Haley will complete the Battelle for Kids
Formative Instructional Practices (FIP) Modules as part of her professional development during student
teaching. Many school districts require their teachers to complete these modules; therefore, she will
already have this valuable knowledge.

Haley is already an outstanding educator and I am confident that she will be successful upon graduation.
I highly recommend Haley Riddlebarger for any teaching position to which she applies and I believe she
will be a wonderful addition to any team that seeks to maximize educational outcomes for children with
disabilities. Please do not hesitate to contact me for additional information.
Sincerely,

Kristall J. Day, Ph.D., BCBA

Senior Lecturer, Special Education Teacher Licensure Program
A359, PAES Building
305 W 17th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
614.599.8901
day.368@osu.edu