30. Letter Of Recommendation

Mr. Henry Nichols
School Principal
Cityville Middle School
1 School Road
Cityville, NJ 08008

Dear Principal Nichols,

It’s my honor and pleasure to provide this letter of recommendation for Julia as she pursues an art teaching position with Cityville Middle School. As the principal of Townston Middle School, I’ve enjoyed having Julia on the teaching team for grades 6 through 8. We’ll all miss her and her contributions to our school community.  

Unfortunately, budgetary restrictions have forced us to reduce the art teaching faculty, and as the most recent hire, Julia will no longer have a position with us next year. This decision in no way reflects on her skills, and I wholeheartedly endorse her candidacy as she seeks a position elsewhere. It’s my wish that she finds a school with the resources to support her talent for teaching art.

Julia started her teaching career with us fresh out of graduate school two years ago. She brought with her a solid training in pedagogical methods and art history, along with great energy and enthusiasm. She introduced several new projects that are now a part of the curriculum, including a self-portrait assignment that asks students to reflect on their identities, a stop-motion animation project using clay and iPads, and a papier-mache “sled challenge” that resulted in fun races down the hill beside the school. Julia also contributed to the “3D Printer Build-a-Thon,” a weekend-long event during which students, educators, and community members came together to assemble over 20 3D printers. Julia brings exciting new ideas to life; I’m confident that she will continue her momentum with her next school.

Julia also impressed me with her commitment to lifelong learning. She successfully collaborated with her mentor, took advantage of several professional development opportunities offered in the district, and took classes on digital technology and special education over the last two summers. She also went out of her way to elicit feedback from her students, inviting them to share their experiences at the end of each semester. It’s this commitment to growth and her students’ well-being that makes Julia an outstanding educator who empowers her pupils.

Julia is charismatic and creative, and she thinks outside the box. She has shown excellent classroom management skills and developed a rapport with students, colleagues, and parents that is characterized by mutual respect. At the end of last year, I had a parent come to me specifically to praise Julia's teaching and the impact she's had on her son. Beyond her strengths as an art teacher, Julia’s also a talented artist and has some of her oil and acrylic paintings displayed in a nearby gallery.

Julia has my highest recommendation for the position of art instructor, and I look forward to learning more about the accomplishments that lie in her professional future. If the circumstances were different, I would strive to retain Julia on our art department teaching team. Please don’t hesitate to contact me for any further information. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Elsa Skools