SOUTH BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Joanne Kerekes Gary P. McCartney, Ed. D. Anthony N. Tonzini, Jr., CPA

Assistant Superintendent for Superintendent of Schools Business Administrator/
Curriculum & Instruction Board Secretary

P.O. Box 181 Monmouth Junction, New Jersey 08852 (732) 297-7800 FAX (732) 297-8456
www.sbschools.org

Building Tomorrow, Today


January 2011

This letter is written on behalf of Jennifer Kamm who has applied to the Rutgers graduate program in Education:
Teacher Leadership.

I have worked with Jennifer for the past four years in my position of Assistant Superintendent and have come to
know her well as a teacher and as a leader in the area of education technology.

Over time in the District, Jennifers work as a teacher has become known as exemplaryespecially in the area of
early childhood where she has emerged as a model. She has distinguished herself in her ability to plan with detail,
to make connections between prior learning and current instruction, to do comprehensive modeling through the
use of metacognative strategies (talk alouds), to actively involve her students in both overt and covert ways, to
differentiate for students at both ends of the continuum, and to question students at higher levels of thinking.
Jennifer has been exemplary in her use of Responsive Classroom techniques which emphasize academic
performance as well as ethical behaviorsomething she herself exemplifies. Her classroom is filled with
examples of student workall of high quality. When you enter her room, you have a comprehensive sense of all
that has been and is being studied. She is an eager learner herself so she is constantly listening and learning from
colleagues and expanding her professional practice.

Over time it also became apparent that Jennifer served as an informal leader in the area of technology. She
designed and led technology workshops for staff and proved herself to be an early adopter of new and emerging
technologies. When we had the opportunity to identify a small group of teachers from across the District to
participate in an early childhood tech pilot, Jennifer was a natural choice. She actively and thoughtfully
participated in the Think Tank and helped to design a technology model for deployment into the Kindergarten
classrooms across the District. She then piloted the model and provided electronic feedback for about six months.
We learned from her work and used her insights to further shape the model. Of note is that Jennifer had her
Kindergartners using iPads as instructional tools within a week of the start of this school yearjust as seamlessly
as they were using crayons. Impressive! When we created a 21
st
Century District Committee K-12 to study the
State Standards in both education technology and 21
st
Century life and careers, Jennifer was recommended for
inclusion. This group will be involved in very advanced work with digital tools, cloud computing, electronic
communication and professional development.

Jennifer is a model teacher. She has excellent planning and management skills and she is highly organized. She
communicates well--she is well spoken, well written and, of course, can communicate technologically. She is
filled with high energy and optimism. An ongoing learner, there is no end to the projects that she takes on and the
high standard of quality to which she holds herself.

I highly recommend Jennifer for entry into your program. She has demonstrated excellence in her teaching; I
have no doubt that she will make an astute researcher, designer and professional developer.

Sincerely,

Joanne Kerekes
Assistant Superintendent