Dr. Jerry A.

Caster
932 29th Street
West Des Moines, IA 50265
515-225-2016
cjeanjerry@aol.com
March 24, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:

Re: Melinda McBratney

It is a pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Lindy. I am her student

teaching supervisor at Drake University. Prior to working with student teachers
at Drake, I was a special education supervisor and also the principal of two
special schools serving disabled students in the Des Moines Schools.
Lindy completed her first student teaching placement at Valley Southwoods in
West Des Moines, Iowa. It is a ninth grade school in the West Des Moines District.
She is beginning her second placement in a high school program in the Waukee
Schools, another district in the Des Moines area.
The Valley Southwoods placement permitted Lindy to work with ninth grade
special education students in both co-teaching settings and pull-out classes
devoted to skills training. She was an active part of one of the ninth grade teams
(science, social studies, math language arts, special education) that planned,
coordinated and delivered instruction to students assigned to that team. Lindys
role was to provide support to students in their general education classes and
also to see that the IEP goals were accomplished. Lindys role varied as she
worked in the different general education classes from individual support to
students during class to working with groups of students. She also developed
organizers for her IEP students and, in some cases, the general education
teachers adopted what she designed for use with all students.
The skills classes provided the chance to review or re-teach content introduced
in the general education classes and also to work on special education goals.
This was also the time that progress monitoring was conducted. In this setting I
saw instruction that Lindy had designed to help students understand content
being covered in the general education classrooms. Lindy demonstrated
excellent skills in planning instruction that engaged her students, effectively
used technology and improved student understanding. I was very impressed
with her ability to do all of those important things. She really showed a great
sense for instructional design and delivery.
Im very impressed with Lindy and she is only half way through student
teaching. She has a great work ethic and understanding of students and
instruction. I think she will be a great asset in any middle or high school. Youll
enjoy meeting her.
Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Sincerely,
Jerry A. Caster

Jerry A. Caster, Drake University, Supervisor of Student Teaching