October 25, 2015

To Whom It May Concern,

I consider it an honor to write a letter of recommendation on behalf of Alexandra
Lifka-Reselman. She is a very strong teacher and coach who is worthy of your
strong consideration for a teaching position.
Alexandra has been coaching with me for seven years. She serves as the diving
coach at Valley High School in West Des Moines where I serve as the head
swimming and diving coach. During these years I have been able to watch her
hone her skills as a teacher-coach. She has been very successful as a coach,
guiding many divers to the state championships where a number of her divers
have finished on the podium. Under her watch new pool and school records
have been established. It has been during this time that her career aspirations
have changed and her desire to be further invested in education has grown.
When she began coaching with me she was working outside of the education
field, then became a teaching associate, and finally chose to go back to school
to obtain a teaching degree.
During Alexandras tenure as an associate I was able to observe her interaction
with students on a more regular basis. She was very involved in assisting her
student and was engaged during the classes where she was working with her
student. This opportunity led her to pursue an education degree.
While obtaining her education degree, Alexandra spent more time in classroom
through substitute teaching. I was able to have her substitute for my high school
mathematics classes multiple times. I had full confidence in her abilities as a
substitute teacher and she even chose to plan the lesson during one of my
absences with my permission and approval. Our mathematics department
struggles to find substitute teachers who have strong math abilities so the entire
department was quick to request Alexandra when a substitute was needed.
During her student teaching experiences I received updates from Alexandra and
it was obvious that she was putting a lot of work and thought into her lesson
planning and was doing great things. She has a passion and a talent for
teaching and will make a great teacher. I encourage you to give her your strong
consideration for a teaching position.
Sincerely,

Shawn DeBoef
Math Teacher/Swim Coach
Valley High School