School of Eueation Drake —- UNIVERSITY Collier-Seripps Hall 212 2507 University Avenue Dee Moines, ow on 4505 April 15, 2019 rasan) 1-800-44-DRAKE(G725)) x2054 ‘ToWhom It May Concern: It is my pleasure to write this letter of recommendation on behalf of Lori Staples as she seeks to serve as an educational leader in your school district. | have known Lori for three years, having served as her instructor for two courses in the Drake University Educational Leadership program, My first interaction with Lori occurred during the course entitled “Leadership and the Profession.” It was evident during this experience that Lori was an intelligent individual with a very strong work ethic. During this course she was able to master the content and develop her understanding of effective educational leadership. One of the hallmarks of Drake's program is a focus on systems thinking/leadership and the process of continual improvement. Lori is a strong thinker who understands how the many Parts of a school work together to achieve a school's desired outcomes. She is able to operationalize her knowledge to create methods for improvement, utilizing the Plan Do Study Act process. One of Lori’s key strengths is determining the “root cause” of an issue and then addressing it by implementing best practice, followed by methods to continually assess the effectiveness of actions taken. This ability to “close the loop” relative to the effectiveness of a plan of action is critical to ensure progress is being made toward any desired outcome. Before coming to Drake as an assistant professor in the Educational Leadership program, | served as superintendent of the Urbandale Community School District. As a result of my experience in that position I can say with confidence that Lori Staples will be highly effective as school leader! She is intelligent and possesses a “can do” work ethic. She has a strong grasp on effective instructional practices and can lead others, individually or collectively, to improve instruction and student learning outcomes. As a result, | urge your selection committee to give her candidacy serious consideration. Sincerely, it Professor, Educational Leadership University