June 3, 2019 ‘To Whom It May Concern: Honor Shelef has recently completed her teaching internship in my fourth grade class at Hickory Woods Elementary. Her teaching strengths and sincere love for children are why | write this letter of recommendation with confidence. Hickory Woods Elementary isa K-5 building with almost 600 students. Of these students, a large number ‘speak English as a second language. In her internship classroom, Honor had students who received English Language and Resource Room support as well as students with extensive ranges in reading and math abilities. In addition, a student with ASD was a present member of the classroom during both reading and science instruction. Throughout her internship, Honor worked alongside me to provide an outstanding educational experience for each of our 30 diverse and enthusiastic learners. She did this in one-on-one conferencing, ‘small group instruction, and during her lead teaching. From the moment | met Honor, it was evident that she was a very ambitious intern. Honor was very involved In setting up the classroom and was eager to look over curriculum materials to familiarize herself with the content and standards she would be teaching this year. Honor was excellent at making ita priority to «establish good relationships with both students and parents within the first few weeks of school, She Conducted informal interviews, took observational notes of each student, and communicated with families about their child’s strengths. Differentiation became a consistent part of Honor’s instruction as she took on her role as lead teacher. She was very knowledgeable in both the content she was teaching as well as her students’ abilities. This allowed her to consistently push each of her learners to his or her fullest potential. ‘Along with her positive relationships she established with her students, she built trusting and respectful relationships with parents. She was consistent with providing feedback to parents on their child's growth ‘and progress in both social and academic areas using email, home/school weekly communication logs, in school meetings, and phone calls. Honor helped the students identify and control their emotions by teaching, modeling, and enforcing The RULER program. This social emotional learning program helped the students take responsibility for their feelings and problem solve much more effectively and independently. When the problems were too big for the students to solve on their own, Honor was very consistent at addressing the problem and not the child. Her behavior expectations were fair and consistent, always holding the students to the expectation that they ‘would be their best selves. Through this, she brought about a classroom climate built on trust and respect. Honor has demonstrated excellent professionalism. She arrived early in the mornings and stayed well beyond dismissal time. She attended trainings on our new science kits, as well as all staff meetings and professional development opportunities | attended. She always carried herself in a way that was confident, yet caring. When working with students, she gets down on their level and looks them in the eye. She is very genuine in all that she does. She was truly a pleasure to mentor. | can highly recommend Honor Shelef for a teaching position. This committed teacher will be a great asset to any school community. sipcerey, Vou dar karte Star kariestarr@wlesd.org 248-217-8939