Dr.

Angela Elsass, Assistant Clinical Professor

208 Peabody Hall Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 (479) 601-2722
Department of Curriculum & Instruction, College of Education & Health Professions

March 28, 2016

To Whom It May Concern:
It is my privilege to highly recommend Miss Sadie Watkins for a teaching position in your school. I
have had the opportunity to supervise and teach Miss Watkins at the University of Arkansas while
she was enrolled in the Master of Arts in Teaching licensure degree program. Due to the nature of
this program, I was able to establish a personal and professional relationship with Sadie while she
was under my supervision as an intern preparing to become a career teacher. I feel that I am able to
provide a very objective recommendation due to the fact that I have also been both an elementary
teacher and principal. I feel confident that I know the quality of person that one seeks when hiring a
classroom teacher and can judge the personal, professional, and educational aspects of such a person.
Miss Watkins will certainly be such an asset to the students, school, and district for which she will
serve.
In regard to my position as an instructor at the University of Arkansas, I observed that Sadie is highly
respected by her peers and by the mentor teachers who have supervised her. Her positive attitude
and friendly personality make her very well-liked by all individuals that have come to know her
during her journey in becoming an elementary school teacher. She has a cooperative spirit and works
well with the other students in our program. She is responsible in her coursework and also makes
an effort to go above and beyond in researching materials that will make her an exceptional
classroom teacher.
Miss Watkins is currently completing her year-long internship at Root Elementary School in
Fayetteville, Arkansas. Her student teaching experiences have included Kindergarten, 3rd grade and
5th grade. She has demonstrated the ability to design motivating and engaging lessons that are
aligned with both Arkansas frameworks and Common Core State Standards. She has shown great
expertise in using formative assessments to guide her instruction and has experience using the
Understanding by Design curriculum model. She designed a two week integrated unit for a fifth grade
classroom using this model in which she effectively included literacy/language arts, social studies
and writing in her curriculum unit. She has a desire to motivate and engage her students working at
diverse readiness levels through cross-curricular connections and differentiation of her lessons. She
has also integrated many of her lessons using various forms of educational technology which has
been interesting and impressive in regard to her knowledge in this area. She will also receive a UofA

STEM certificate upon graduation for completing coursework in science, engineering, mathematics
and technology and using the design loop to integrated these areas into the curriculum
Miss Watkins conducted an action research project on the effects of narrative writing while analyzing
character traits and personality of characters through the use of graphic organizers during a nine
week intervention in a 5th grade classroom. It was evident through the motivation of the students in
her classroom and their excitement for learning during this intervention that she was successful in
meeting the goals of her project.
I believe that Miss Sadie Watkins has the dedication for working with a student population that is
diverse and will strive to meet the needs for both exceptional and high-risk students. She has the
knowledge and capability to provide innovative instruction through a variety of strategies that will
meet the needs of all learning modalities and she has proven herself to be effective in her classroom
management skills. Sadie has a sound knowledge of the content and pedagogy for designing coherent
instruction and has been evaluated during her internship experience with the Charlotte Danielsons
Framework for Teaching model which aligns with the Arkansas Teacher Excellence and Support
System which is used for teacher evaluation.
I highly recommend her for employment in your district. She has proven herself worthy as a
dedicated student and intern who possesses the desire to share her real-life experiences and
knowledge in a classroom setting. The opportunity for Sadie to share her talent in the classroom will
be beneficial for the students she will teach one day and I know that she will be appreciated by both
the parents of her students and the faculty of the school in which she teaches.
Please consider Sadie Watkins as a candidate for employment. She will be a teacher that will touch
the lives of children- regardless of their race, language, academic levels or socio-economic status. I
would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have in regard to Miss Watkins in regard
to my recommendation for her being employed in your school. You may contact me at (479) 6012722 or by email at aelsass@uark.edu.
Sincerely,

Dr. Angela Elsass, Assistant Clinical Professor

University of Arkansas, College of Education & Health Professions
Department of Curriculum & Instruction- Childhood Education Program
Peabody Hall 208
Fayetteville, AR 72701