©. Taylor Elementary a C h id November 4, 2015 ‘To Whom it May Concern: | am honored to write this letter of recommendation for Mr. Justin Blietz. I've had the opportunity to ‘work with Justin as one of his mentors during his work on his Education Leadership degree. Justin completed an administrative internship at Taylor Elementary with me during the summerifall of 2014. I've served as principal at Taylor the past ten years. Taylor Elementary is a PreK-5 building with approximately 320 students. Taylor serves many at risk students where nearly ninety percent of our students participate in the national free/reduced lunch rogram, thirty-nine percent are minorities, and twenty-three percent have Individual Education Plans. During Justin's internship time at Taylor Elementary, | worked closely with him on preparing for a new school year. Since we operate on a modified year-round calendar, he helped me prepare pre-service activities for our teachers, supported office staff with organizing class lists, student records, and ‘materials for families. Justin leamed about Kagan cooperative learning in addition to many of our school district and building routines, practices, and procedures which was valuable in seeing similarities and differences between the two largest school districts in lowa. Justin also supported the first week of school and was able to see how all the preparations for a new school year impact the reality and importance of setting the tone for a positive school year. Justin has several strong leadership traits that will serve him well in his future endeavors. He is a life-long leamer who asks great questions and is very reflective. He has an innate desire to make an impact on quality student outcomes as evidenced through his willingness to putin the extra time with a “whatever it takes” mentality. Justin exhibits habits of a Systems Thinker seeking to understand the big picture while recognizing complex causeleffect relationships and identifying the best ways to leverage the most impactful action steps. He is a strong communicator understanding how to listen with empathy and the importance of setting and communicating a vision while inspiring others to work collaboratively toward that vision. His charismatic personality is contagious and motivates others to be as passionate as he is about making a difference. Mr. Blietz is a walking definition of integrity and is a leader by example in his daily actions. Colleagues have high levels of respect for him because he has set the bar high with his immense work ethic and ‘commitment to helping others reach their highest potential. Mr. Blietz possesses the calm and patient demeanor it takes to handle the stressful and difficult situations that he will encounter as a school leader. In closing, let me say that | believe that Justin Blietz is ready to take the next step in his professional journey in education as a school administrator. | gladly welcome the opportunity to speak with you further about Justin's qualifications and can be reached at 319-361-5798. Sincerely, Brian Chvistotfersen, Principal ‘Taylor Elementary Cedar Rapids Community School District Taylor Elementary 720 7th Ave. SW Cedar Rapids, lowa 52404 Phone 319-558-2477 Fax 319-398-2209