Traci Nalevanko

4960 Claremont Court

Pleasant Hill, Iowa 50327

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter in support of Emily Barnett. Emily has been a 7 th and 8th grade math
teacher at Callanan Middle School for the past 6 years. I have worked with Emily as an
instructional coach. She is always willing to have me in her classroom and is open to trying any
new ideas and strategies that will best meet her students’ needs. She is a positive contributor
whenever I have collaborated with her and as a part of her 8th grade PLC.
One of Emily’s strength is classroom management. She sets up clear, consistent routines and
procedures that allow her students to know what is expected of them. As a class, they develop
the classroom expectations and she holds students accountable for following these
expectations so that all students can learn.
Emily provides clear learning goals for her students. Not only are the daily learning targets
posted and referred to throughout her lesson, but she provides success criteria for students so
that they have a clear path to the learning. These targets and success criteria help move the
students forward in their learning and also provide an avenue for Emily to give clear consistent
feedback to the students, so they know exactly where they are in the learning. She celebrates
success with her students to keep them motivated.
Organization is another of Emily’s strengths. She is able to organize not only her classroom and
her curriculum materials but, she is very good at organizing her students to interact with new
knowledge. An area she has worked hard to strengthen and is doing very well with is organizing
students in groups to actively process student learning. She provides opportunities for students
to process, debate and challenge each other’s thinking and come to their own conclusions
based on the discussions of the team.
I feel that Emily would be an asset to any school and highly recommend her for a teaching
position in your school.

Traci Nalevanko

Instructional Coach Callanan Middle School