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Katherine C. Boles, Ed.D. Director, Learning & Teaching Program Senior Lecturer on Education

Longfellow 302 13 Appian Way Cambridge, MA 02138 Phone: (617) 496-0948 Fax: (617) 495-7843 katherine_boles@harvard.edu

March 8, 2013 To Whom It May Concern: Shoshana Sprague is a student in the 2012-2013 cohort of the Learning and Teaching Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. I am the Faculty Director of that program and have come to know Shoshana quite well during her year at Harvard. I taught Shoshana in my course Teaching and Learning: Links Between Research and Practice during the fall semester. Shoshana was a wonderful person to teach. Her enthusiasm for every weeks class; her careful reading of all the books and articles assigned for the course; her excellent final paper that received an A; and her beautiful collaborative presentation as part of a group that made a presentation on classroom instruction make it very easy for me to write this recommendation. During my course she asked probing questions in the most respectful manner, and she made other students think more deeply as a result of these questions. Three years of teaching experience at a Jewish Day School in New York City gave Shoshana many fine teaching skills. She speaks knowledgeably about teaching and learning, and eagerly discusses the children she taught. I taught in a public elementary school for 25 years before coming to Harvard, and was surprised by the depth of knowledge of teaching that Shoshana had gained over the course of her relatively short career as a teacher. Shoshana student taught and did a practicum in two public schools in Manhattan during her college years. She majored in Urban Studies and Education at Barnard College, and graduated Summa cum laude with a New York State Public School Teacher Certificate for Grades 1-6. Shoshanas subsequent three years as a teacher have clearly established her understanding of what excellent teaching can be. Her desire to now use her skills in a charter school with a more diverse population than the school in which she began her career is a testimony to her commitment to her growth as an educator. After her year at Harvard, Shoshana is ready to return to teaching with a more comprehensive theoretical, practical and research understanding of this wonderful career. The combination of all the attributes I have already listed in this recommendation, along with Shoshanas warmth, collaborative nature, natural humility, and her ready smile, will make her an excellent candidate for any teaching position.

I highly recommend Shoshana Sprague for any teaching position. She is a fine dedicated young teacher. Sincerely yours,

Katherine C. Boles