January 16, 2018

To whom it may concern:

Janis Bellon. I met her 7 years ago at a teacher inservice in the cafeteria at Stephen F. Austin High
School. When I met her, I was immediately drawn in by her energy, enthusiasm and pedagogical vocabulary.
In staff meetings, she always shared her wisdom and in the Austin English Department, she shared lesson
plans and helped us vertically align the AP team with terminology and skills sets.
Over the seven years I have known her, she took over the Pre-AP English 1 team and started the
first ever GSA- Gay-Straight Alliance, Spectrum, the longest running GSA in Fort Bend. She devotes her
time to her students, creating a safe-haven for students struggling with their identity. Ms. Bellon advocates for
all students, promoting inclusion, self-awareness, and offers a voice to help them express who they are and
who they want to become. Her compassion and teaching skills led to her being nominated to become teacher
of the year, for the past 3 years. This year, she is a finalist for the District.
As the Austin English Department Head and the lead AP/Pre-AP teacher at Austin High School,
Ms. Bellon has become an invaluable resource. We work directly together developing student centered and
challenging Pre-AP/AP curriculum that caters to all levels of students, from the most creative Gifted
Talented students, to the math and science centered students who struggle developing their ideas, to the oral
students who struggle to write their ideas down on paper, to the students who take AP or Pre-AP classes just
for the challenge struggle to keep up with the curriculum. Ms. Bellon inspires. She listens. She makes students
feel appreciated and understood. She will be a valuable addition to any staff and and a true gift to any future
classroom she may grace.
I am disheartened that we are losing such a gifted teacher. In addition to her work in the classroom
and GSA, Ms. Bellon has a Master’s in Curriculum & Instruction and has spent many summers and hours
helping not only write and revamp curriculum for the District, but also leading teacher development during
PLC’s at our school or over summer inservice. The District frequently calls her for help and frankly I think if
she was not moving from Sugar Land to Ohio, the District would scoop her up to become a member of the
District English team as a helping teacher. However, I know she would miss working the students in the
trenches.
Janis Bellon enjoys a challenge. She wants to make a difference. Our former student, senior Jackson
Neal, president of the GSA, who was a finalist at the International Poetry slam, recently made the following
statement about his favorite former teachers, Ms. Bellon and myself, in Fort Bend Focus Magazine: “These two
English teachers have the literary and pedagogical prowess to put the entire cast of Dead Poets Society to
shame”. Any student who can give a teacher this level of praise should be fought over. Hire Janis Bellon. You
will be gaining a rare, shining gem.
Sincerely,

Erin North
Austin High School, English Department Head