MILWAUKEE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Division of Recreation and Community Services

Central Services
5225 West Vliet Street
P.O. Box 461
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0461
Phone: (414) 475-8180
Fax: (414) 475-8541
Website: www.MilwaukeeRecreation.net

November 6, 2014
Dear Sir or Madam:
I wish to strongly recommend Amber Kordes for the position of classroom teacher
within your school or district. A motivated, dedicated, and talented classroom educator,
Amber also brings outstanding previous skills and experiences as an educational leader,
manager, programmer, and organizer of learning in the afterschool environment. Without
hesitation, Amber would be a valuable addition to your learning community.
I have had the privilege to work with and supervise Amber for several years in her
role as an assistant Site Coordinator and Site Coordinator for the 21st Century Community
Learning Center (CLC) afterschool program at Cass Street School. Recognizing her immense
talents as an educator and leader, Amber was promoted by the Boys & Girls Clubs from
Assistant Club Manager to Club Manager (CLC Site Coordinator) of the CLC program at Cass
Street. In more than four years serving as a Boys & Girls Clubs Club Manager (also referred
to as a CLC Site Coordinator), Ambers solid vision, initiative, and dedication helped to
create a unique, successful afterschool program at Cass Street School. She successfully
balanced a menu of tasks: monitoring staffing, programming scheduling, and coordination of
facility programming across sites; creating and monitoring monthly reports for multiple
sites; and managing and working with staff to ensure compliance with contractual
requirements and partner expectations.
Under her guidance, the CLC afterschool program has served an average of more
than 80 K-8th grade youth in its afterschool program each day, and Cass Street School
students and families recognize the importance and benefit of the engaging, hand-on
academic activities, dynamic recreation activities, and meaningful youth development
programs Amber has brought to the CLC.
Amber is an exemplary educational and instructional leader, monitoring staff and
student progress in the CLC curriculum, offering coaching support and sharing best
practices with staff. Eager to work collaboratively and gather new ideas and offer best
practices, Amber has built strong relationships with day school staff and regularly seeks out
and shares unique programming resources and feedback to share with CLC staff. She is
highly regarded by Boys & Girls Clubs and MPS Recreation staff and administration as a
leader and go-to resource for instructional support and staff development strategies.
Always positive and encouraging among her peers, she values collaboration,
communication, and sharing feedback.
Using her strong understanding of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and
clear understanding of how to create learning and teaching environments that support
diverse learners, Amber has created lesson plans and lesson planning tools to support

instructional success of her CLC staff and academic success of her CLC students. In every
circumstance, Amber goes above and beyond expectations.
Further, Amber has remained committed to reaching out the community and
forging excellent relationships with a diverse group of individuals and organizations.
Volunteers from UW-Milwaukee and the Cass Street School neighborhood have dedicated
countless hours to providing academic and mentoring support to youth.
Once again, I would strongly recommend Amber Kordes for the position. Her
dedication, technology skills, and leadership would be a tremendous asset to your district
and school educational team.
Should you have any question at all, please feel free to contact me at (414) 475-8869
or (414) 550-0436 or kurtzbl@milwaukee.k12.wi.us.
Sincerely,

Beth-marie Kurtz
Recreation Supervisor
Before and After School Programs
Milwaukee Public Schools