May 20, 2015

To Whom It May Concern,

It is a pleasure to write this letter of recommendation for Jenna Stoutenburg who is applying
for a position in your school/district. I have had the opportunity to work with Jenna in several
capacities, including as an instructor in our comprehensive literacy methods class taken during
the Internship year and as the Faculty Program Coordinator for the Special Education Program
at Michigan State University. In this letter, I would like to provide you with a glimpse of the
professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions our students will bring to your faculty, while
also speaking directly about this applicant.

Department of
Counseling,
Educational Psychology,
and Special Education

Richard S Prawat
Chairperson
Michigan State University
447 Erickson Hall
East Lansing, Michigan
48824-1034
517/353-6417
FAX: 517/353-6393

MSU is an affirmative-action,
equal opportunity institution.

We believe that the special education program at MSU is providing comprehensive and cutting
edge professional preparation. Specifically, we have tried to prepare our teacher candidates
both broadly to encompass the many roles that special education teachers now play in schools,
but also with depth and quality within these critical roles. Special education teachers today
must be able to participate in at least four areas, including (1) providing remedial instruction
for students who have may have significant skill gaps, (2) participating on any number of
collaborative problem-solving teams, such as Response to Intervention, co-teaching, IEPs,
pre-referral teams, and multidisciplinary evaluation teams, (3) provide access to the general
education curriculum within inclusive settings (i.e., instructional, behavioral, and social
interventions, accommodations, differentiated instruction, Universally Designed Learning), and
(4) transition programming, including key skills related to self-determination, self-advocacy,
and self-regulation as students make transitions throughout the lifespan (grade level and
school-to-post secondary).
Looking across these four areas, we have tried to develop significant depth and breadth in each.
Our students are prepared to teach non-conventional readers and writers using a variety of
instructional methods and approaches. Our students are prepared to conduct comprehensive
assessments in the core areas of literacy and mathematics and use data to inform instructional
planning for students. One of the hallmarks of our preparation has been to have teachers utilize
evidence-based interventions in their practices. We fully expect that Jenna can fulfill a widerange of expectations you may have for your special education faculty, whether that is to
improve IEP students basic skill levels in resource settings, delivering Tier II or III instruction
as part of a larger RTI initiative, or providing access to the general education curriculum
through a variety of learning-to-learn strategies, instructional accommodations, or cognitive
strategies. Our graduates also have had an entire course devoted to technology, so bring this
technical expertise to their teaching. All students are CPR trained and have participated in
non-violent crisis intervention techniques.
One of the things that Jenna will bring to your faculty will be a professional disposition to be a
team player that has a broader role in the building, through participation on a wide range of
collaborative problem solving teams. Effective communication and collaborative skills are
vital to the special education teachers success in the building, whether interacting with
parents/families, general education colleagues who are the primary teachers for most students
with disabilities, or through ancillary personnel who provides services to a child with an IEP
(i.e., school psychologist, social worker, physical therapist, speech and language, paraeducators). As districts move into school wide programs like Response to Intervention,
Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, or Universal Design for Learning, the premium

on effective collaboration skills is heightened. Jenna is ready to assume this challenge and
brings knowledge of both the collaborative process and can play a key role in providing direct
service within these system approaches. The successful implementation of these programs
requires faculty with both skill and willand Jenna is positioned to assume key roles as a
member of these comprehensive teams as an intervention specialist, behavioral specialist, or
co-teaching partner. Whether thinking about how to better implement the Response to
Intervention system in general education classrooms or providing intense, tailored
interventions to individual students, we expect our graduates to become valued and valuable
members of any collaborative problem solving team.
In the Spring of 2015, Jenna was a student in my CEP 804a Literacy Methods course. At
MSU, students have three literacy methods courses throughout their program. This final
course focuses on providing teachers with a balanced approach to providing instruction across
the five core areas of reading identified by the National Reading Panel (phonological
awareness, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension), writing instruction,
and teaching learning-to-learn strategies to help students access core curriculum in content
areas (e.g., science and social studies). In addition to developing a comprehensive literacy
assessment system, students completed projects in reading, writing, and inquiry. A goal of the
course was to engage students as active learners who can be in search of knowledge, not just
consumers of isolated skill instruction. To accomplish this goal, Jenna developed an inquiry
unit in her K-6 special education resource room in Pontiac, Michigan. Jenna was located in
one of our least resourced schools my students have ever been placed in. Fundamentally, there
was very little in terms of curriculum and resources. In fact, on several occasions, Jenna
approached me after class about low or no-cost ways to build literacy skills for her students, as
her school did not have access to many books or computers. It is also the case that, out of my
56 Intern teachers, I would describe Jennas students as among the most at-risk in my class--and my students are teaching in many urban districts (Detroit, Chicago, Grand Rapids,
Lansing) and high poverty districts (over 65% free or reduced lunch). Yet, Jenna refused to let
this stop her---and she developed an inquiry unit on mammals for 9 of her 2nd-5th grade
students. After discussing what researchers do, identifying where they might get information
about their topic, and generating questions about their topic, Jenna provided direct instruction
on a variety of reading and writing strategies that were necessary to accomplish the goals of the
inquiry.
As I reviewed Jennas teaching, it was clear to me that she made necessary adjustments to
capture the hearts of her students and providing direct instruction on powerful strategies. Jenna
made visible and raised to consciousness a specific strategy for conducting research with her
students. This focus on metacognition is a hallmark of effective instructionand would
seldom ever be considered when teaching our most at-risk IEP students in an urban classroom.
What struck me about Jennas work is how she published her students work and thinking.
Jenna did not just give lip service to the idea of having her children become researchers and
expertsbut went the extra step in having her students demonstrate what they learned in
front of an authentic audience. When I asked Jenna about her inquiry unit, she was able to
immediately pull up images from every aspect of her teaching. What I saw was exactly what I
was hoping I would see: (1) attention to visual scaffolds to support students strategy use, (2)
the integration of reading, writing, speaking, and listening to construct meaning, (3) use of
multiple sources of information, (4) explicit and direct instruction of strategies for planning,
researching, organizing, drafting, editing/revising, and publishing information, (5) using key
principles of cognitive apprenticeships, including modeling, thinking aloud, using examples
and non-examples, and rubrics/standards, and (6) attention to positive behavioral supports to
make sure that students remain engaged, motivated, and find purpose in their work.
Jenna will not last on the job market very longand whoever is lucky enough to have her on
their faculty will be better for it. Jenna will be a highly professional, focused, and serious
scholar/practitioner. She will require no maintenance and will handle business and be highly
accountable to her students learning and their families. Jenna will lead quietly with her

competence and passion for teaching.

Beyond the content curriculum of a comprehensive curriculum, I believe there are
intrapersonal and interpersonal skills that mark Jenna as an outstanding colleague. It was
evident to me throughout the semester that Jenna was an active learner in my classroom---she
engaged with the material with a critical eye. It also matters a great deal when students are
comfortable enough to approach me with questions and ask for clarifications. Jenna also
displays a very even and professional disposition, all characteristics of excellent collaborators
and problem solversmy sense is that Jenna maintains a level-headed approach, even when
under duress. Additionally, Jenna displays a positive energy that is contagiousshe is
positive, goal focused, and thoroughly enjoys learning about things that may benefit her
students. Finally, there is an important difference between young teachers who want to help
and those who maintain high expectations through personal responsibility. I believe Jenna is in
this latter groupand this is a key disposition for new teachers to develop. Rather than
creating a kind of co-dependence where too much support is provided and not removed, I
believe Jenna holds high expectations for all of her students and expects effort from every
child. If I were building a school from the ground up, I would want people like Jennapeople
who are focused on improving the lives of their students through rigorous learning, high
expectation, and able to share their expertise with others in professional learning communities
of all kinds. Jenna has proven that she can create a positive, pro-learning, and inclusive
learning environment in classrooms where some may balk.
To conclude, I believe Jenna would be an important addition to any faculty. She will be on the
job market a very short time. In this letter, I have tried to provide some detail about the
professional skills and dispositions that our students develop as part of their teacher preparation
program. We believe that Jenna will be an outstanding team player, will be highly accountable
to your students, provide instructional expertise to many, and can help serve your school by
participating in the multiple roles expected of todays special education professional. We are
extremely proud of our teacher candidates and confident that Jenna Stoutenburg will make a
good school better. Of course, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write
(mariaget@msu.edu) or call (517) 432-1981.
Sincerely,
Troy V. Mariage, Ph. D.
Associate Professor
Program Coordinator
Special Education Program
Michigan State University