Dear Hiring Coordinator:

Please accept my highest recommendation for Dina Saunders for school leadership
positions. Dina is quite simply one of the most compassionate, ethical, and dedicated
educators with whom I have worked in my tenure as a professor and advisor in Drake
Universitys Educational Leadership program. I gained tremendous respect and trust for
Dina during her time in the program, based on her background as a skilled,
knowledgeable, and progressive teacher-leader with an evident commitment to all
students and families, in particular those who are underserved.

Dina played an important role within her cohort, serving as a calm, moderating, and
facilitative influence, as well as a model of professionalism and collegiality. It is my firm
belief that, while she is clearly at the top of her profession as a teacher and an amazing
advocate for an equitable education as a community member, she has great potential to
impact a school or district and the lives of young people and families even more
profoundly in increasingly responsible roles as a school leader.

Specifically, I believe Dina possesses a set of strengths, dispositions, and competencies
that lend themselves extremely well to caring, committed leadership. She demonstrates a
capacity for envisioning positive change and working toward it by way of a distinctly
collaborative leadership style. She has led an innovative, best practice ELL program and,
as a fluent Spanish speaker, has served as an interpreter and advocate for immigrant/ELL
populations. Dinas prodigious efforts in this regard clearly indicate her willingness and
ability to marshal the collective will and resources of a community for a common just
cause, and point to the potential to create environments that are conducive to diminishing
the alarming achievement and opportunity gap between cohorts of students.

Even beyond such management skills and instructional experiences, I am most impressed
with Dinas unparalleled professional integrity. She quietly models ethical qualities and
respect for others in a way that I believe truly exemplifies servant leadership. There is no
doubt in my mind that Dinas conscientious approach as a team member, her regard for
students, families, and peers, and her unmatched dedication to her profession will allow
her to undertake leadership roles in a highly effective manner. If I can further elaborate
on her qualities in this regard, please do not hesitate to contact me at (515) 271-2082.

Sincerely,

Dr. Randal Peters
Assistant Professor
School of Education
Drake University