Gateway High School lames M.

Hoeltje
3000 Gateway campus Blvd. Director of Bands
Monroeville, PA 15146-3369 jhoeltje@gatewayk12.org
PHONE: 412-373-5744 412-373-5751
FAX: 412-373-5872

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my pleasure to offer my highest recommendation to Ms. Sarah Hetzler for employment in the field
of music education. Ms. Hetzler served as my student teacher at Gateway High School during the spring of
2021. During this time, she demonstrated her readiness and ability to manage a high school band program.
Teaching in 2021 is looks very different than it did even just a few years ago. The wealth of knowledge
that student teachers must possess as they enter the school is astounding. However, Ms. Hetzler entered my
classroom with all of the necessary tools and understanding that she needed to be successful. This is not only
an accreditation to her alma mater, but more so to her as a person. Then and throughout her student teaching
experience, she found ways to further her knowledge to be prepared for situations that may arise in the
classroom. She found new teaching techniques to approach difficult lessons, she innovated our classroom with
her use of technology, and she executed well planned lessons to each class on a daily basis.
Ms. Hetzler can stand with any student teacher that I've worked with. Her classroom delivery is
outstanding, her demeanor, mannerisms, and relationships with students and staff are professional, and she is
always ready to adapt to different situations in the classroom. No student teacher has all the answers, but
many of them think that they do. Sarah was not an example of this type of student teacher. While she was able
to self-identify issues with her own teaching, she was also open to constructive criticism and discussion about
why she made the choices she did and was often able to defend her position respectfully. As a result, she was
able to improve on many aspects of her teaching during her time in my classroom.
Any high school band director will tell you that the majority of their job does not revolve around
teaching music. It is the planning, preparation, paperwork, email, budgets, dealing with parents, etc. that takes
up our time. Sarah impressed me with her skill in this area from her first week with me; regularly attending to
and completing clerical work like grading assignments, creating assignments and rubrics, posting grades, or
preparing lessons before it was asked of her. Her level of competence in this area is far beyond that of her
peers.
During her time here, we were able to produce a small spring musical. Ms. Hetzler did not shy away
from the extra work that this brought to her and often volunteered her time and skills as a pianist to better serve
our students. She was willing to stay late, come in on weekends, and assisted on many administrative tasks to
ensure the success of the production.
Again, it is my pleasure to offer my highest recommendation to Ms. Sarah Hetzler for employment in
the field of music education. She was a delight to work with, made great music with my students, and
developed herself into a wonderful young teacher during her time at Gateway High School. I look forward to
seeing her succeed in this field which means so much to me. Please feel free to reach out to discuss her
qualifications further.

Sincerely,

Q,~