Grand Haven High School

Erik Bye, Social Studies Teacher

17001 Ferris Street, Grand Haven, MI 49417
Phone: 616.402.2397 Email:byee@ghaps.org

To whom it may concern,

Ms. Madison Noakes spent the entire school year of 2019-2020 as my student teacher at Grand Haven High
School in Grand Haven, Michigan. The classes in which she taught were ninth grade World History and tenth
grade US History. Over the course of the school year, Ms. Noakes gradually took over more responsibilities with
classes and planning, eventually teaching two sections of World History and two sections of US History.
Ms. Noakes displayed many outstanding personal and professional qualities during her time at Grand
Haven. The most impressive was the constant professionalism she displayed towards the students and staff early
on during her time of student teaching, and continuing throughout the school year. She attended the beginning of
the year professional development for our staff which dealt with Professional Learning Communities (PLC). She
also attended and participated in many staff meetings and department meetings that were designated for PLC
within our subject areas, and gave quality feedback and strong talking points in those meetings. Ms. Noakes also
observed other teachers in multiple departments throughout the year, asking questions and observing different
instructional and classroom management skills. Additionally, Ms. Noakes attended after-school sports and
community events indicating an interest in the entire spectrum of activities affecting students, their education, and
the community as a whole.
During Ms. Noakes’s two semesters of teaching, she gradually took on more responsibilities with regards to
lesson planning, assessment building, and course teaching. She demonstrated many strong qualities throughout,
but her strongest quality was developing strong literacy skills and unit planning. She planned and executed a
creative lesson sequence in World History about the Berlin Conference and Imperialism in Africa. The activity
focused on the Congo, and who was at fault for the genocide and destruction during colonialism. The students
were set with different roles, researched their topics using primary and secondary documents, and debated. This
was a fantastic lesson designed by Ms. Noakes and showcased her approach to differentiation and complex
understanding of students strengths and abilities.
Another strong focus and strength that Ms. Noakes showcased was her attention to students with diverse
learning needs. Whether it be students with 504s, IEPs, exchange students, or students who were new to Grand
Haven and were having trouble adjusting. She showed great poise and understanding towards all of these
students and showed she cared and wanted them to succeed by adjusting lessons, homework, and assessments to
better fit their needs. She also took time out of her day during lunch, before and after school to give them extra
time to finish work, tutoring help, or just to talk.
Ms. Noakes already appears to be an excellent teacher and performs as well as a teacher who has several
years of experience. She has tremendous initiative, drive and a highly positive outlook and command for the
subject matter and her teaching strategy. I give my strongest approval and highest recommendation in hiring Ms.
Noakes for your Social Studies position. If you have any questions, please feel free to email or contact me by
phone.

Sincerely,
Erik Bye

www.ghaps.org