To

whom it may concern,

It is my privilege to recommend Lindsay Newton to you as a gifted educator. She is dedicated to the field and brings to it
passion and understanding. I recommend her to you for her desire to continually progress as a life-long-learner, her
interest in working as a team, and most importantly her ability to institute rigor and accountability while advocating
for her students.
I have known Lindsay for many years and her natural abilities lend themselves to engaging young people. Upon meeting
her, you will notice an uncanny warmness that endears you to her immediately. She has chosen to use this gift to benefit
the lives of young people through teaching. Still, it has been a long road, full of challenges. And yet, Lindsay has
continued to push forward with the end goal in sight. While her peers are out, she stays in to study and complete course
work. Knowing her as I do, I am confident that her progression will continue long after graduation, making her an
excellent example for her students and coworkers of life-long-learning.
Lindsay is a team player. She is exceptionally loyal, humble, and collaborative three characteristics that make working
with her enjoyable and effective. Throughout her practicum and student teaching, she continually sought the advice of
fellow teachers, including myself. Lindsay took opportunities to observe my classroom, staying after to discuss my
methods. On other occasions, she sought me out after school, between classes, and during her precious preparation
time to discuss specific students and seek advice on how to deal with challenging situations. This is not a singular
instance. In speaking with other teachers, I have found that they, too, have spoken to Lindsay on multiple occasions as
she sought the collaboration and advice of her peers.
Most importantly, Lindsay strikes a unique balance between holding her students accountable for their academic
performance while also advocating for them to other teachers. As a teacher of students with special needs, this may be
the most important skill she develops. I have seen her hit this balance while student teaching at Murray High. Recently,
Lindsay and I collaborated, working with a student we had in common. As the Study Strategies teacher, Lindsay was
concerned that the exams administered in my class were beyond the abilities of this student and advocated for her to
me. I created a new, alternate exam that catered to the specifications from the IEP that Lindsay and I discussed. Lindsay
then made sure our student used time in class to complete her assigned work and prepared herself as independently as
possible before taking the exam. Just because this student had an IEP did not mean she were free from responsibility,
and Lindsay ensured that point was very clear. As I watched Lindsay administer the exam to our student orally, I was
impressed with her ability to use study strategies they practiced in their class. The answers were not provided or hinted
at. Rather, our student was held accountable for using her knowledge and skills and encouraged to complete the test on
her own with as little intervention as possible. Ultimately, our student experienced academic rigor at her own level.
Though Ive worked with special education teachers closely, Ive never seen this balance hit so well.
Having worked exclusively with at-risk students before, I recognize the dance one has to perform between
accountability and advocacy, between discipline and encouragement. Striking the balance is necessary to succeed with
this demographic of student, and Lindsays nuanced understanding of this balance is noteworthy.
It is for these reasons, among others, that I am confident in recommending Lindsay to you as an educator. She will make
you laugh, impress you with her innate understanding of teenage struggles, and make coming to work a real joy.
Lindsay will be an asset to any institution of which she is part and I am thrilled to welcome such an educator to the field.

Sincerely, Jessica Garrett
Social Studies Teacher, Murray High School
jgarrett@murrayschools.org
801-264-7460 ext. 5300