19 April 2016

Aloha mai kkou (Greetings to all),

It is with great honor and humility that I write this letter of recommendation for Melissa Kim. I began working with
Melissa during the Fall semester of 2014 in our Child Development course. Since that time, I also had her in three
additional courses. In the Spring of 2015, Multicultural Education and Diversity; in the Fall of 2015, Assessing
Teaching and Learning; and in the Spring of 2016, Hawaiian Culture and Language. As you can imagine, in just a
year and a half, I had multiple opportunities to identify the knowledge, skills, and dispositions Melissa possesses
that make her an incredible teacher. Consequently, I confidently support Melissa as a new teacher candidate
because her knowledge, skills, experiences, and disposition, demonstrates her ability to articulate and employ the
InTASC Standards, illustrates a positive and caring disposition suitable for the elementary classroom, and exhibits
her tenacious work ethic dedicated to serving the students of Hawaii.
My course work provided Melissa and her classmates with multiple opportunities to demonstrate their understanding
and knowledge of the InTASC Standards. Through these courses and their coursework, I saw, in great detail,
Melissas development and growth into a teacher who could clearly integrate learner and community information
into her curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Her work, specifically her reflections of her various assignments,
illustrated her ability to adjust and revise her planning based on the needs of her learners.
Through her coursework involving her Observation and Participation, Melissa provided a clear picture of her ability
to stay cool under pressure when needing to improvise a lesson when plans in the school day changed, calm
demeanor when working with a student struggling with focusing on the assigned task, and her cheerfulness when
greeting students, parents, and fellow teachers. These are just a few of the necessary dispositions teachers must have
in order to succeed in building positive, trusting relationships with her students.
Throughout this year and a half working together, I was extremely impressed with the dedication and commitment
Melissa shows to the development of her craft, as evidenced in the outstanding quality of her assignment
submissions. She is intentional in her approach and research of each assignment, ask thoughtful questions to gain
clarity and insight about each assignment, and willingly submits multiple drafts to receive feedback before due dates
in order to ensure that she is submitting her best possible work. This incredible work ethic has carried over into her
classroom as demonstrated by her lesson planning, her instructional delivery, and her own feedback for her students.
Melissa Kim is an extraordinary student that matured into an outstanding teacher candidate. She exemplifies the
best of what it means to be a Chaminade University graduate! There are not enough words to express my
unequivocal support of Melissa as she begins her teaching career. Your school would be remiss in not hiring her as
a new teacher. Should you have additional questions or would like to speak further regarding Melissa, please do not
hesitate in contacting me.
Me ka haahaa (Sincerely,)

Toni Marie Kaui, PhD, NBCT

Education Division
tonimarie.kaui@chaminade.edu
(808) 440-4264