Andy Danilchick Student Teacher Supervisor Foundations and Practices of Education 3700 Walnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-621

May 2, 2012

To whom it may concern: I can highly recommend Rebecca Walz for the position of English teacher. Rebecca demonstrates outstanding knowledge, passion, drive, and dedication to her students and her own learning. I have worked with Rebecca during the 2011-2012 academic year as her student teacher supervisor for the University of Pennsylvanias Graduate School of Education. I have been impressed not only with Rebeccas considerable teaching skills, but also with her relentless commitment to social justice and making a difference in the lives of her students. As an English student teacher at Northeast High School, Rebecca strove continually to foster her students inquiry and literacy skills. She did this by being incredibly meticulous and intentional in her lesson planning. Her plans, full of detail and annotations, provide the basis for strong lessons that developed a wide range of skills. As Rebecca implemented her lessons, she started where the students were and brought them to where they needed to go. In the process, Rebecca adapted to the students and posed questions and information in many different forms and modalities. Rebecca engaged well with her classroom mentor, other colleagues, and myself always striving to improve her lessons and student learning. Rebecca has exceptionally high expectations for both herself and her students, and she approaches the practice of teaching with a skillset unusually advanced for a novice teacher. Rebecca has a talent for not only understanding her students individual and group needs, she also excels at implementing complex lessons, managing nuanced discussion, facilitating Socratic seminars, and debriefing learning experiences like a master teacher. Nevertheless, Rebecca is never satisfied and looks constantly for ways to develop her teaching knowledge and skill. She is relentlessly searching for new resources and content that can deepen her students understanding. Rebecca also seeks out students individually to offer additional support and build strong relationships. Her students deeply respect her and are extremely engaged in learning, looking forward to the dynamic activities that Rebecca uses to make learning meaningful. Hardworking and dynamic, Rebecca Walz is an excellent teacher on the path to becoming a master teacher. Rebecca is driven to teach at a high level and had great success with her 9th and 12th grade students this year. Rebecca would make a great addition to any school and any community would be extremely fortunate to have her. I cannot recommend Rebecca Walz highly enough!

Sincerely, Andy Danilchick

UNIVERSITY Of PENNSYLVANIA