May 11, 2015

Dear Portfolio Review Committee,

It is a pleasure to write this letter of recommendation on behalf of Jonna Smyth for her teacher evaluation
portfolio. In the 2 years of being here at Bay, I have had the opportunity to work with Jonna in her role as an
advisor, and this year primarily as the Outing Club coordinator. With every interaction and conversation that I
have had with Jonna, what I appreciate most is how Jonna is always able to keep everything in perspective. Her
overall demeanor is calming and she thinks deeply about the issues that affect us locally and globally. She is
self-reflective and understands how she has her own story and how that affects her perspective in her daily
interactions and in the context of an independent school.
Jonna is an advisor to a group of 8 students in the class of 2016 (current 11th graders). She takes great
care in guiding her advisees and students and takes her responsibilities very seriously. Her advisees clearly find
that advisory is a place where they can freely and openly discuss issues that concern them about the community
and as an advisor, she finds a productive way to communicate that back to the administration. Because of her
close relationship with her advisees, she is able to quickly have a pulse on the ground of what the students are
feeling. In an informal survey taken of her advisees, heres what they had to say:
Jonna is passionate, chill, caring, understanding, and good at giving advice
She has been there for me in and out of the classroom and has(is) helping me get through
and overcome obstacles I face in class. I'm constantly asking Jonna for advice and she
always knows exactly what to say. She is really great at giving the perfect amount of advice
but still supporting me to make my own decisions. I value Jonna's advice so much and she
is definitely one of the adults I most look up to and appreciate the most at school.
At the beginning of this year, Jonna had an advisee who made the hard decision to leave Bay and pursue
another institution that would allow her more balance in her academic and extracurricular pursuits. Jonna
communicated with the class dean and her advisees parents and helped counsel them through this difficult decision.
This year, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Jonna in regards to the Outings Club, for
which she is the staffulty sponsor. In the numerous conversations that we had about the history of the club and
what challenges it faces, Jonna always approached the conversation with such a willingness to work towards a
solution together. She was open to suggestions that I had, as well as sharing with me what some of the
parameters or frustrations were in years past. She has a clear passion for providing this opportunity for students
and holds it high in her priorities to really make the Outings Club better and more accessible to students.

35 Keyes Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94129-0610

Tel (415) 561-5800

www.bayschoolsf.org

Fax

(415) 561-5808

It has been a pleasure to work with Jonna during my time at The Bay School of San Francisco. I always
get a good sense of the level of care Jonna holds our students in and always feel pleased to be able to work with
such a thoughtful, reflective, colleague. Bay is so fortunate to have her as one of our faculty members.
Sincerely,

Hideko Akashi
Dean of Students
9th Grade Dean

35 Keyes Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94129-0610

Tel (415) 561-5800

www.bayschoolsf.org

Fax

(415) 561-5808