March 19, 2019 To Whom it May Concern: am honored to write this letter of recommendation for Lesti Nevarez, Mrs. Nevarez worked in my classroom as a behavioral interventionist for over two and a half years. Her duties included supporting students with an array of challenging academic and behavioral needs. She was able to maintain a calm and comforting demeanor when assisting struggling students. Her ability to remain calm when situations escalated to a crisis level ensured the safety of all of the students in the class. Her ability to navigate these challenging behaviors with strength and compassion helped provide struggling students with the guidance they needed both to de-escalate from a behavior and to learn how to manage their emotions so they can make better choices in the future. This is becoming a necessary skill in today’s classroom and itis one that cannot be taught. There are many teacher candidates who make exceptional instructional assistants but are Unable to manage the rigor of teaching a classroom. Mrs. Nevarez quickly demonstrated that she was capable of taking on the many roles needed in a classroom. In addition to fulfiling all of the requirements of her position, she requested additional assignments. Within a year of her working in my classroom, she was attending curriculum meetings on her own time as well as organizing and implementing modified curriculum to meet the diverse needs of the students. Mrs. Nevarez also helped implement curriculum in several general education classes modifying itas necessary to meet the needs of special needs students as well as English Language Learners. Her ability to modify and teach the necessary curriculum successfully and her willingness to use her own time to do so demonstrated her strength both of knowledge and character. In the two and a half years that Mrs. Nevarez worked with me, she continued to exceed my expectations in her ability to work with a wide variety of staff and students. Her ability to teach was obvious when she began working with me, but her greatest strength was her dedication to the students’ success. Mrs. Nevarez pushed herself to ensure that every lesson taught would be taught to the best of her abilities and to ensure that best practices both in teaching curriculum and in managing behaviors were utilized. Her dedication to maximizing her students’ potential pushed everyone around her, including myself, to strive for success instead of settling for acceptable. | know that as a teacher Mrs. Nevarez will instill a love of learning and a drive to succeed in her students, so | am confident recommending her to you for this position. Sincerely, la ld Michelle Malkind ASPIRE Teacher Kelly Elementary