Monday, March 8, 2021

Letter of Recommendation: Fiona Sotelo

El Paso School District Human Resources:

I am wri8ng this le:er on behalf of Fiona Sotelo who I have known since August 2020. Over this
short period, I have observed her to be a mature young woman with drive, direc8on, and
dedica8on. In my Elementary Science Methods class Fiona performed at the top of her class,
consistently scoring in the top 1%. Fiona’s understanding of the concepts was excep8onal and I
oNen called on her to help those students who were having more difficulty with the concepts
covered which a:ests to her academic ability as well as her ability to work collabora8vely with
others. Fiona’s GPA of 4.0 also speaks to her academic abili8es in other content areas and
indicates that she has mastered the content at a level that will translate into strong assessment
scores for her own students. As her science methods instructor, and now as her university
supervisor for student teaching, I am amazed at her mature presence and masterful classroom
management. Her understanding of curriculum, content, and pedagogical concepts gives her
the ability to deliver mul8-faceted, engaging lessons that are extremely well developed for a pre-
service teacher. I fully expect that she will con8nue to perform as well as she begins her career in
her own classroom. Of special note about Fiona, she has been one of very few students to jump
into extra science Professional Development opportuni8es and even ask to borrow materials
from her methods class ac8vi8es to share with her students in her student teaching placement.
She has stated that she wanted to do them again with her own students, to help them “really
understand the concepts”. Her recent hydraulic manipulator arm STEM lesson is an example of
her ability to leverage her own learning into meaningful, engaging and fun learning for her
students.

Fiona is an outstanding individual who has taken responsibility for her own educa8onal success
and understands the meaning of honor, hard work, and commitment. Fiona has worked in
various educa8onal seXngs since the fall of 2014 when she worked as a Work Study Aide in a
Child Development Center in Eureka, CA. As part of her journey to become a Licensed
Elementary Educator, Fiona came to the University of Hawaii West Oahu in the fall of 2018
where she has maintained outstanding grades, and con8nued her educa8on degree with
placements in 3rd grade, Kindergarten, 2nd grade and for the past year, fiNh grade where I have
had the opportunity to watch her cul8vate strong rela8onships with students, faculty, staff,
administra8on, and parents making her one of the strongest candidates for employment I have
worked with. Fiona looks forward to gradua8ng in May 2021 with her Bachelor Degree in
Elementary Educa8on and the opportunity to become an outstanding educator for the school
and district lucky enough to include her in their future.

Fiona has the ability to quickly create great rela8onships with students and staff. She will have
li:le trouble adjus8ng to the demands of her “real” teaching assignment. She once commented
to me that she “is excited to have her own classroom and an opportunity to provide an
encouraging learning environment for every student”. Fiona has integrity, maturity and the
capacity for growth that will make her a great teacher. It is with great enthusiasm that I
recommend Fiona Sotelo for considera8on in employment as a first-year teacher in the El Paso
School District.

If you have any further ques8ons please contact me.

Respecdully,

Richard M. Jones, EdD.
Professor Natural Sciences and Science Educa8on
University of Hawai`i – West O`ahu

91-1001 Farrington Hwy., Room E-125

Kapolei, HI 96707
808-689-2340
rmjones7@hawaii.edu