Round Lake Area Schools Community Unit District # 116 Administrative Offices 316 South Rosedale Court Round Lake, Illinois 60073-2999 (847) 270-9000 Fax: (847) 546-3538 April 25, 2008 TTY: (847) 270-9020 To whom it may concern Jessica Deren has been a student teacher in my classroom from early January to the present, and I have had the opportunity to observe her amazing change from a curious and inventive student to a caring and knowledgeable educator. Her rapport with students has been outstanding and they truly look up to her as a teacher. Jessica genuinely cares about her students. I have seen her work one-on-one with struggling students demonstrating patience and determination, yielding a successful experience for both. She consistently takes into consideration the needs of individual students and strives to meet those needs in a variety of ways. She seems to enjoy the diversity of our population and focuses on each student as a whole person encompassing their backgrounds and intellectual levels. ‘The students are certainly sad to see her go, although she has generously volunteered to return for ‘two field trips and our sixth grade dance. Jessica has always been well prepared for class; her knowledge of the material was obvious in the inventive and authentic lessons she organized, Her lesson plans have been complete and thorough, and she used a variety of teaching materials to enhance learning. I employ reading centers in my classroom, and Jessica was able to jump right in and develop centers that were engaging and made learning the required material fun and interesting for our students. The time and effort that she put into those centers was evident. Jessica has been a great addition to our sixth grade team, She attended all of our team meetings, and contributed many valuable suggestions. She worked well with other teachers, and was more than willing to help out wherever and whenever needed. She was also a great asset during Parent/Teacher Conferences. I strongly recommend Jessica Deren for a teaching position. She is certainly capable and I believe she will be very successful with her own classroom. One student recently remarked to me that “Ms, Deren makes school a good place!” This seems like the best recommendation anyone could ask for. If you have any questions please contact me at: School: 847-270-9900 8 i a Home: 847-438-3264 Elaine Shiedlak, Cooperating Teacher pensar & 6 Ss 7 Bq bute tan Ter CHANGING ead ak Set a And ake enh in sal soces hy prot al students ith igh tana hon ne