March 23, 2017

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my pleasure to recommend Kim Dillingham as a candidate for elementary school teaching

postitions. Over the past year, I have worked with Kim as her University of Utah student
teaching supervisor, and I was responsible for directly observing and evaluating her as she
completed her student teaching requirements in a sixth grade classroom at Valley Crest
Elementary School in Granite School District. Based on these ongoing observations and my
knowledge of Kims abilities, demeanor, and work ethic, I would wholeheartedly recommend
Kim for elementary school teaching positions. She would make an outstanding addition to any
school staff.
Throughout her student teaching time, Kim has consistently impressed me with her teaching
abilities. She is not only an excellent student teacher, she has developed skills far beyond those
expected of a novice. She consistently planned stuent-centered, engaging, core-focused lessons,
and she impressed me with her ability to critically think about how best to frame any given
content. A balance between student engagement and curriculuar rigor can be difficult to capture,
but Kim always managed to frame rigorous instruction with high student expectations in a
student-friendly, engaging manner. For example, I observed her teaching a lesson on how a bill
becomes law. She created a hands-on activity where students moved from station to station,
going through a bills legislative process. Students were enraptured by the activity, and by the
end of the lesson, they were also experts on the topic. This lesson was just one example of the
time, energy, and effort that Kim put into carefully researching and crafting engaging and highly
content-focused lessons. Additionally, she is already adept at using assessment data to inform
her instructiona challenging skill for new educators. However, Kim often referred to student
data as a rationale for her lessons, and included formative assessment measures in her lessons to
hone in on student learning.
Ms. Dillingham is equally adept at leading lessons as she is at planning them. Her classroom
management techniques include seamless integration of classroom routines and procedures.
Additionally, her enthusiastic demeanor and confident teacher presence in front of the class
fosters a very positive classroom environment. She successfully utilizes a wide variety of
classroom management techniques, which maximizes instructional time. Additionally, she has a
high degree of with-it-nessshe never loses sight of the needs of individual students, even
during whole-class instruction.
Finally, Kim is a consummate professional. She collaborated effectively with her site teacher, as
well as other professionals in the school. She was constantly learning and took opportunities to
conference with other teachers to improve her craft. Additionally, she developed a deep
knowledge of both content and pedagogy, and worked diligently to best meet the needs of her
students. She was constantly reflecting on her teaching process, thinking about a lesson could be
improved and what students still needed to master the content. Her reflective nature will be a
great asset as she continues to teachshe will only continue to improve her already-impressive
teaching skills.
Throughout my experience working with Ms. Dillingham, she has impressed me with her
teaching abilities, work ethic, thoughtful reflection, and professional demeanor. It has been a joy
to work with her this year, and I would give Kim my highest recommendation for any teaching
position. I have no doubt that she will be a great asset to any faculty.

Sincerely,

Sheree Springer
University of Utah
801-472-6232 (cell)
sheree.springer@utah.edu