May 26, 2015

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my sincere pleasure to write this letter recommending Courtney Benedick for a position as an Elementary teacher PreK-6 in your school division. Ms. Benedick is currently employed as a teacher at Falls Church City Public Schools in Falls Church, VA. She holds a Masters Degree in Education and is endorsed in Elementary Education PreK-6. She has taught 6th grade history and 6th grade English while employed at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School. FCCPS enjoys a reputation for excellence, and Ms. Benedick has been instrumental in helping us to achieve and maintain this goal.

I served as one of Ms. Benedicks administrators while I was employed at Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School as an Assistant Principal. I am now employed as the Assistant Director of Teaching, Learning, and Achievement for FCCPS. This role affords me the opportunity to continue to work closely with Ms. Benedick as she strives to seamlessly integrate technology in the classroom and create project based lessons for kids to make connections between history, social sciences, and the real world. She currently teaches U.S. History II.

Ms. Benedick is trained in the International Baccalaureate(IB) philosophy and has spent numerous hours writing and collaborating on Middle Years Program(MYP) Unit Planners. She is also trained in Response to Intervention (RtI) and has experience working with struggling learners to close the achievement gap. She also has experience with Time to Teach, which is a PBIS approach to discipline.

Because of my close and various associations with her, I feel qualified to comment on Ms. Benedicks skill as an exemplary educator. She will make a valuable addition to your staff. She is an outstanding candidate for any position where someone is needed who can coach teachers to become better educators through the use of technology integration, Project-Based Learning, STEAM opportunities, authentic assessment techniques, and other best pedagogical approaches in education.

In the context in which I have had the pleasure of working with Ms. Benedick, she has demonstrated her thoughtfulness, leadership skills, collaborative abilities, willingness to take risks, and genuine compassion for children and their development. After evaluating her work, observing her performance in class, and supervising her teaching, I feel confident that Ms. Benedick will make a significant contribution as an educator under your employment. I give her my highest recommendation for any specialist, coaching, and teaching position which you may have available.

If I can provide additional information to support Ms. Benedicks application for a position in your division, please contact me at 703-248-5636 (w), 571-221-8212 (c), or at seabridgej@fccps.org.

Sincerely,

Jeanne C. SeabridgeAssistant Director of Teaching, Learning, and AchievementFalls Church City Public Schools