Juanita Ortega

1644 W. Cocopah St.

Phoenix, AZ 85007
03/01/2016
To Whom It May Concern:
I am excited to apply for a teaching position at Murphy School District. I am currently attending Arizona State
University and will be graduating this May 2016. I will be receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary
Education with an English as a Second Language endorsement. I have hoped to work for Murphy School
District since my first semester as an Elementary Education Major at Phoenix College because I went to school
at Arthur M. Hamilton. Since then I have even gained work experience through Murphy School District at Jack
L. Kuban and William R. Sullivan schools.
I am currently completing my student teaching in a large, urban, Title 1 school district with a high percentage of
English Language Learners. My previous work experience and coursework at ASU has prepared me to work in
classrooms that are multilingual, multicultural and with students who are at risk. Two years of academic courses
coupled with internships/student teaching and a variety of professional development trainings have given me the
skills to create a strong and supportive classroom environment that ELLs or any other demographic could
benefit from. The best thing about the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College teaching program is that it is two
years long with a mandatory year-long student teaching period. The first year was an intern year. Mine was
spent in the Creighton School District and Osborn School district. First I was placed in a 2 nd grade class at
Papago Elementary School then at a 5th grade class at Clarendon Elementary School. My senior year has
consisted of student teaching in 4th and 5th grade classrooms at Alta E. Butler Elementary from August 2015 to
May 2016. Through these experiences, I have instructed students with diverse socioeconomic and cultural
backgrounds, a majority of whom were learning or had learned English as a second language. My work
experiences and teaching background have prepared me for teaching students at different achievement levels
from different linguistic backgrounds.
I am eager to teach in a school district where I have learned so much and felt so at home. I miss the community
and cannot wait to have an opportunity to show how much I have grown by applying what I have learned since I
last worked for Murphy School District. I know I want to work for Murphy because I see in it the same things
people that Kathy Kochery and Ralph Wisterman must have seen in it which encouraged them to stay for so
long: Murphy is a family that includes teachers, administration parents and students. I appreciate the time you
have taken to review my qualifications and I look forward to meeting with you in person.
Thank you for your consideration,

Juanita Ortega