April 5, 2016

To Whom It May Concern,

It is a pleasure to write this letter of recommendation for Shannon Downey who is applying for
a position in your school/district. I have had the opportunity to work with Shannon 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 Shannon can fulfill a
wide-range 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.
One of the things that Shannon 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. Shannon 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 Shannon 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.
Shannon is currently 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, phonics,
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. This project was a unique challenge for
Shannon, as she was placed in a 9th grade special education classroom that served students with
a variety of disabilities (LD, ASD, OHI, EI, CI). The focus of her class was on teaching
student Study Skills, so there was not initially an expectation to teach content to students.
However, Shannon seized on the opportunity to help her students become more strategic
learners and developed an inquiry unit on teaching critical skills related to successful learners.
These skills included learning to learn strategies like note taking and highlighting, but also key
life skills like time management, organization, and behavioral regulation. A goal of the course
is to engage students as active learners who can be in search of knowledge, not just consumers
of isolated skill instruction. I sincerely hope that a prospective employer can view Shannons
teaching, as it will give you insight into a teacher who understands her students deeply and
then provides appropriates scaffolds and supports to work in each childs zone of proximal
development. In a nutshell, Shannon is simultaneously providing direct, explicit, and
scaffolded instruction on specific cognitive strategies, while also helping her students to
become metacognitive of strategies that will promote success in high school and beyond. This
is a very complex piece of teaching, but one that is emphasized more than ever with the new
Core Curriculum Standards.
Beyond the content of a comprehensive curriculum, I believe there are intrapersonal and
interpersonal skills that mark Shannon as an outstanding colleague. It is evident to me that
Shannon is an active learner in my classroom---she engages with the material with a critical
eye and is always focused on instruction. I am aware of who asks questions and is fully
engaged in their learning---Shannon is one of these students. I have taught many hundreds of
intern teachers in my career. Each year, there are a few students who stand out---they stand out
because they want to learn everything they can to improve their craft. Shannon is one of these
students and, as I look across 57 interns this year, she is one that has stood out in her
commitment. She also displays a very even and professional disposition, all characteristics of
excellent collaborators and problem solversmy sense is that Shannon maintains a levelheaded approach, even when under duress. Shannon 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 Shannon 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 Shannon 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 Shannonpeople 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.

To conclude, I believe Shannon would be an important addition to any faculty. I reserve this
comment for only a few of my students, but Shannon has earned this recognition: A school
would be extremely lucky to hire Shannon Downey. 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 Shannon 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 Shannon
Downey will make a good school better. As the Director of the Special Education Program at
Michigan State University, I believe we are preparing the top special education practitioners in
the nation. This is a bold statement. If you interview Shannon Downey, I believe you will see
evidence of why I believe this to be true. 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
620 Farm Lane, #339 Erickson Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: 517-432-1981
Email: mariaget@msu.edu