It has been a pleasure to work with Erica Lumsden winter of 2018 in our elementary music classroom.

All of our

students have benefited from Erica’s creativity and talents. As a district with a large percentage of English

Language Learners and special education students, Erica has been instrumental in reaching goals for individual

students. Our students range in abilities including several self-contained autistic classes. She is very encouraging in

small groups and loves to celebrate successes with students.

We teach almost 1,000 students, and Erica has enthusiastically shared her vast knowledge of music with our

students. She has incorporated her woodwind and brass playing into lessons bringing the instruments to life. She is

clearly well versed in the content knowledge of music. In addition, she can apply her knowledge in her lessons. She

takes great notice of struggling students by quietly refocusing them and differentiating instruction to ensure students

understand the subject matter. She has been instrumental in teaching beginning recorder, keyboards, and orchestra

introduction to students from kindergarten to the 5th grade level at two different buildings. We assess together and

come up with a plan to target students with enrichment activities or re-teaching concepts.

We collaborated on an organized unit for centers for recorder instruction. Her artistic skills and creativity were

instrumental into the preparation of these centers. In addition, she has attended the Grand Rapids Symphony field

trips and guided the students in reflection and evaluation of the performance. Additionally, she is easy to talk to, and

she asks questions. I would not hesitate to say that Erica would be a creative asset to any staff. Please call with any

questions or concerns.

Amanda Hite

Music Teacher K-5

Comstock Park Public Schools

ahite@cppschools.com (616) 254-5616