March 19, 2019 ‘To Whom It May Concern: Katherine Clark has been a fifth-grade teacher at Park Western Elementary School for the past two years, itis with great pleasure that | recommend her for a position at your campus. She is a dedicated and talented teacher: a team player with experience in teaching technology and balanced literacy to Title I students, has the ability to build strong personal relationships with her students, their parents, and our staff, and possesses excellent classroom management. Ms. Clark began at Park Western as a first-year teacher. Before students even entered her classroom, her dedication to them was evident. She spent long hours prepping her classroom, even painting the walls, and making sure that everything was ready to go on day one. Ms. Clark intuitively knew exactly how she wanted her room arranged for maximum efficiency to enhance student learning. There is a calm sense of order and a feeling of welcome when you walk through the door. Her students respond Positively to the environment she created and | often hear them comment that they are lucky to have her as a teacher. As part of the fifth-grade team, Ms. Clark teaches a 5-week rotating technology class to the entire 5 grade on all aspects of Google Drive. Ms. Clark attended unpaid weekend training to become a certified Code.org teacher and created accounts for the entire grade level five classes). Students are taught how to use Google Docs so that classroom and home writing assignments can be shared with teachers and students. Google Slides prepares them for collaborative group research projects, and Google Sheets for ‘organizing data into tables. Students practice giving credit for all online material they use and discuss online safety in both the school and home settings. Many students have fallen in love with coding, ‘making school and learning much more interesting and engaging to them. This opportunity has also prepared them well for middle school next year. Park Western utilizes the workshop method for teaching reading, writing and math. Ms. Clark participates in both the Readers and Writers workshop training with a staff developer from Columbia University’s Teachers College, as well as CGI math professional development through UCLA. As such, she is well versed in balanced literacy and a variety of math strategies that allow all students in her class to learn and be successful, regardless of past struggles. In ELA on the SBAC tests, 17 out of her 24 students improved a level from 4 grade. On Running Records reading assessments, by the EOY 65% of her mostly Title | class was at or above grade level, up from 39% at the beginning of the year. Ms. Clark has outstanding interpersonal skills. She is able to calm, motivate and teach even the most difficult students in her class. She is patient, consistent, understanding, and well-loved by her students. She is a good listener, so students feel safe in telling her what is happening in their lives outside of school. Her compassion balanced with accountability allows students to feel “heard and understood” ‘without becoming victims and giving up when life is hard. She helps them see that the choices they make can change the course of their young lives. Ms. Clark builds trusting relationships with parents as well, getting all the adults in her students’ lives working together as much as possible for the benefit of their children. When parent meetings become contentious, she is able to maintain her composure and de-escalate the situation with professionalism.Classroom management for first-year teachers is usually the most difficult aspect of the job. Ms. Clark, however, has had that area of her classroom under control from day one. She uses a calm and respectful tone with students and gives clear instructions which students are able and willing to follow. Every visit to her classroom found students engaged in learning and working together collaboratively. Her self-confidence is evident in her abilty to redirect students who are not following classroom rules. The misbehavior doesn't last long! ur staff will miss Katherine Clark greatly. In two short years, she has made an impressive impact on her students and the fifth-grade as a whole, We wish her the best as she moves on to new prospects. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. Sincerely, fella Amy Miller Magnet Coordinator 310 941-1590