Letter of Recommendation for Sarah King 

 
 
I wanted to share with you my experience with working with Sarah King for your 
consideration. 
 
She worked for me at Dickson Middle for two years while I was the principal. She was 
absolutely instrumental in getting our 7th grade social studies team to begin the collaboration 
process. Her first year with us was challenging, especially not being in Tennessee for an 
extended period of time and not fully understanding our accountability system. I recall her 
getting her teacher-effect score from her first year of testing and seeing disappointment in 
herself. Then there was a transformation of absolute determination to be a more effective 
teacher, wanting to get into data and TVAAS. I am not sure I have ever witnessed more 
intensity in wanting to do better for both her students and the school. 
 
Mrs. King helped formulate the beginnings of a guaranteed and viable curriculum through the 
process of de-constructing standards and helping fellow teachers create Common Formative 
Assessments (CFAs). We were in the infancy stage with that group of teachers, learning how to 
collaborate (PLCs) and move to a more standards driven curriculum. Consistently she was 
relentless in her belief that teachers should teach the standards, but it was even more 
important to her that teachers be content experts through the process of sharing and 
discourse, firmly believing we are better together than in isolation. 
 
Without her initiative and want to be better, our 7th grade social studies team would not have 
made the gains they accomplished. I am proud to say she was a part of the DMS Dragon Nation 
and would hire her again if given the opportunity. 
 
Any questions, please feel free to contact me. 
 
Respectfully, 
 
 
  
Woody Burton, Ed.D. 
Director of Special Education 
Dickson County Schools 
115 Academy Street 
Dickson, TN 37055 
Phone: 6
​ 15-446-2085 
Fax: ​615-441-4132