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December 9, 2019

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my pleasure to recommend Jennifer LeChard to you. I have known Jennifer since
August 2019 when I became her Field Instructor for her internship year at MSU. Since that time, I
have been consistently impressed with the diligence and preparation Jennifer has demonstrated in her
internship placement at Dewitt High School in Dewitt, Michigan.
During first semester Jennifer completed her Special Education internship in a resource
room at Dewitt High School with her mentor teacher, Ms. Bonnie Rios. In her special education
placement, Jennifer worked with students on caseload who were identified as eligible for special
education services in the following eligibility categories: ASD, EI, LD and OHI. She and her mentor
teacher developed plans to support the students in their general education classrooms as well as
through individualized lessons in the resource room. Jennifer devised and implemented creative and
high interest lessons, accommodating or modifying as needed, often working one-on-one with
students with different learning and emotional impairments and adapting lessons to students’ learning
abilities while being flexible to daily changes in her classroom.
Jennifer devised lessons to support the content her students were learning in their general
education classrooms as well as lessons focusing on practical life-skills. As an engagement strategy,
she effectively built connections by relating school content to students’ interests. Jennifer modeled
what she expected, both in terms of academics as well as behavior and found this to be very effective
in keeping students engaged. She devised a daily time management log for students to assess their
own efforts and also communicated consistently with parents and administrators while advocating for
student learning.
The special education internship placement at Dewitt High School also required Jennifer to
co-teach in general education classes. For many interns, co-teaching is daunting, particularly at the
secondary level. Jennifer initially found her assignment to co-teach in a physics class to be out of her
comfort zone. It was gratifying to watch her accept this challenge and enthusiastically embrace the
opportunity to co-teach and collaborate with teachers through lesson planning and instruction.
Jennifer is warm and nurturing while also being very responsible and organized. She is
caring and empathic and while she is eager to teach others, she also has a strong desire to learn from
them. Jennifer is reflective about her own lessons and craft and this has made her a joy to oversee.
College&of& The dedication and commitment to excellence that Jennifer embodies will be a valuable tool as she
Education& continues her career in the field of education.
& In May 2020, Jennifer will become certified in Learning Disabilities Special Education K-
Department!of!! 12, Elementary Education K-8, and Language Arts 6-8 self-contained. In addition to her State
COUNSELING,& certifications, it should be noted that Jennifer is experienced in using technology in her teaching
EDUCATIONAL& practice and regularly uses a Smart Board and a document camera.
PSYCHOLOGY,&AND& Jennifer is an unusual intern. For three years she gained global experiences while travelling
SPECIAL& internationally as a skater for TEAM USA. The dedication and commitment to excellence that
EDUCATION&& resulted in her placing 2nd in the nation and Top-10 in the world involved committing countless hours
! to practice and training as well as spending weeks at a time competing for Team USA, all while
Michigan!State!University! continuing to keep up her grades. Also worth noting is her significant skill as craft artist (e.g., string
620!Farm!Lane! art, jewelry-making, soap-making). For several years she has successfully sold her works, some pre-
335!Erickson!Hall! commissioned and others on speculation. The concentration, dedication and perseverance she has
East!Lansing,!MI!48824!
demonstrated in both of these extra-curricular pursuits set her apart as an intern and will be great
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517G355G1837! assets when she joins a school faculty.
Fax:!517G353G6393! It is with great pleasure that I recommend Ms. LeChard to you as a qualified and well
education.msu.edu! rounded professional with a demonstrated ability to deal with students and colleagues, a dedication
and commitment to teaching, and an energetic approach to the field of education. I know that she will
! be an asset to any school community or teaching staff she chooses to join.
Please feel free to contact me with any further questions that you may have.
Sincerely,
Susan G. Doneson
Susan Doneson, Field Instructor Cell phone#: 517-402-0509
Email Addresses: donesons@msu.edu OR susan.doneson@gmail.com
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MSU!is!an!affirmativeGaction,!!
equalGopportunity!employer.!

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