Dr. Jerry A. Caster 932 29th Street

West Des Moines, IA 50265 515-225-2016

cjeanjerry@aol.com

March 27, 2015

To Whom It May Concern: Re: Molly McClelland I  am  Molly’s  student  teaching  supervisor  and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  write  a  letter  of  recommendation  for  her.  Prior  to  working  with  student  teachers,  I  was  a  special  education  supervisor  and  then  principal  of  two  schools  serving  disabled  students  in  the  Des  Moines  Schools.    Molly  is  completing  her  student  teaching  at  Valley  Southwoods  and  is  working  with  Jill  George.  She  is  demonstrating  all  of  the  skills  that  one  would  expect  of  a  competent  teacher.  She  plans  well,  is  organized,  has  a  good  sense  of  instructional  design  and  relates  well  to  her  students.  I  really  like  her  interaction  style  with  the  students.  There  is  always  a  clear  instructional  focus,  and  the  interaction  is  always  engaging  and  supportive  of  students.  She  effectively  communicates  expectations  and  students  respect  her  authority.      Molly  is  having  a  very  successful  experience  at  Valley  Southwoods.  She  is  so  competent  that  both  Jill  and  I  agreed  at  the  mid-­‐term  that  Molly  was  really  ready  to  have  her  own  classroom.  This  is  only  reasonable  because  Molly  has  done  subbing  in  the  West  Des  Moines  Schools  and  has  spend  a  lot  of  time  in  the  high  school  special  education  program.  When  she  starts  her  career  she  will  be  far  beyond  any  beginning  teacher  I’ve  seen  in  terms  of  professional  maturity.      One  of  the  things  Molly  brought  to  Southwoods  is  an  understanding  of  transition  issues  that  students  face  when  they  move  on  to  the  high  school.  She  has  taken  it  on  herself  to  create  a  program  that  she  can  use  to  help  her  current  students  begin  to  prepare  for  the  transition.  What  makes  it  significant  to  me  is  that  she  identified  the  need  and  addressed  it  very  quickly.  Her  level  of  independence  and  self-­‐direction  is  at  a  higher  level  than  I’m  accustomed  to  seeing  in  beginning  teachers.  I’m  really  impressed  by  what  she  has  done.    Molly  is  a  very  bright  and  talented  person  who  is  hooked  on  working  with  students  with  special  needs.  She  has  a  commitment  to  help  students  become  independent  and  to  learn  to  self-­‐advocate  that  I’ve  always  seen  in  my  very  best  teachers.  Those  things,  plus  her  ability  to  work  with  students,  parents  and  other  staff  will  make  her  very  successful.  She’ll  be  an  asset  to  any  special  education  program  and  the  entire  school.  I  recommend  her  with  no  reservations  whatsoever.      Please  feel  free  to  contact  me  if  you  have  questions.  Sincerely,  Jerry  A.  Caster  Jerry  A.  Caster,  Supervisor  of  Student  Teaching  Drake  University