August 24th, 2021

Dear Parent(s) or Guardian(s),

My name is Lauren Schoen and I will be working in Mrs. Shilton’s classroom this school year
until the end of December. I am working towards getting my teacher certification which involves
working with a mentor teacher to develop the skills that I need to become a successful teacher.
This is my final semester at Grand Valley State University and I will obtain a degree in
secondary education with an emphasis in mathematics and a minor in biology.

When I came to Grand Valley, I saw the need for empathetic relationships in our society. I have
worked at Union High School, Sandy Hill Elementary, Jenison Junior High, and many schools in
the Kentwood Public Schools system. My experience has been tutoring, observing, mentoring,
and working in summer programs. This past spring, I assisted at Cityside Middle School in
Zeeland and plan to implement the things that I learned into my student teaching semester.

This semester I will be working closely with Mrs. Shilton planning lessons, improving my
classroom management skills, and leading small groups and discussions. Mrs. Shilton and I will
team-teach and eventually I will slowly begin leading lessons. Mrs. Shilton will continue to
monitor the classroom and mentor me. Some of the lessons that I teach will be reviewed by my
professors at GVSU. My professors may have the opportunity to watch me teach in person or
through a videotape. These videos will be primarily of just me and will only be viewed by myself
and the faculty at GV. Please feel free to let me know if you have any concerns about your
student being videotaped.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with friends, traveling, and reading. I played basketball in
high school and went to Okemos High School which is near East Lansing. I am very honored
that I get to do my student teaching semester at CA Frost. I am excited to meet your students
where they are at and help them in any way I can.

Please feel free to email me at schoenL@students.grps.org if you have any questions or

concerns.

Sincerely,
Lauren Schoen
Grand Valley State University
schoenL@students.grps.org