May 6, 2013 To whom this may concern: Dani Reid Padilla is one of the best students I have ever

had the pleasure of teaching. While others writing letters of recommendation have had the opportunity to observe her teaching and have attested to her excellence in the classroom, my perspective is different. She has been a student in three of my graduate classes over the past two years, and I want to focus on her academic work. First, in the Multicultural Education class, Dani participated with consistent enthusiasm. It was clear she has a strong understanding of what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher. In every assignment and in discussions with classmates, she went beyond the requirements to thoroughly examine each topic, always bringing in relevant examples from her own experience. She has a firm grasp of her own cultural identity and a deep appreciation of her students cultures. Another class in which Dani excelled was Literacy in the Content Areas. Because Dani fully embraced the idea that every teacher is a literacy teacher, she found ways to support student growth in reading and writing in the science classes she observed, analyzed and planned. With the current awareness of the need to prepare students to be college and career ready, teachers like Dani are especially needed. She has the knowledge and skill to fully support literacy teaching in her own classes and whatever school faculty she joins. Finally, Dani has been a student in the seminar which ran concurrently with student teaching, from January to May. It is here that I have witnessed her extraordinary ability to put into action all that she knows about teaching, learning and life. This was evident in her class participation where she always shared her thoughts about becoming a teacher with humor, maturity, professionalism and with deep compassion for students and fellow teachers. For all these reasons and more, it is with the utmost confidence that I recommend Dani Padilla to you. She is a brilliant student with the heart of a true teacher.

Sincerely,

Margaret Mize, Ed.D. Assistant Professor Chaminade University