January 28, 2015

To Whom It May Concern:

I am pleased to write a letter of recommendation for Pamela Harshbarger for an administration position
in your school district. I had the pleasure of working with Mrs. Harshbarger for eight years. Her
experience, skill and dedication to meeting the diverse needs of all of our students have made her an
outstanding educator and a model for others in the educational field.
Her experience as an excellent classroom teacher, master of the English curriculum, knowledge and
understanding of the Iowa Core and knowledge of Best Practice and literacy strategies made her an
invaluable member of the East High School staff.
Mrs. Harshbarger was a 9th grade English teacher and a member of a 9th grade house. She took a
leadership role with her 9th grade team. Mrs. Harshbargers extensive knowledge of the Iowa Core, Best
Practices and Literacy Strategies led her to become a Literacy Leader at East High School. The past four
years she was the program director of the Success Building project which was the reading intervention
that East High School put in place. Mrs. Harshbarger trained staff, planned lessons for the Success
Building class and held regular and consistent professional development for the Success Building staff
in which she modeled the delivery of different literacy strategies. She also planned and implemented the
professional development sessions for East High School and assisted Ruby Van Meter with their
professional development sessions.
Mrs. Harshbarger led East Highs Instructional Leadership Team. She collaborated with the building
principal to set the agenda for these meetings and then facilitated the meetings. She was also extensively
involved in the development of the building Comprehensive School Improvement Plan. She finished
worked with the building principal in gathering data that was used to review and update the plan.
Mrs. Harshbarger has the respect and trust of the East High staff. She has been a volunteer instructional
coach for some of them and many have sought her out for advice on how to implement literacy
strategies in their curriculum. She built strong relationships with the East High staff and students.
Students still seek her out even though she has not been in the classroom as a teacher for the past three
years.
Mrs. Harshbarger collected data from MAP testing to evaluate the success of the Success Building
program. She met with many students to review their test scores and goals that they have set. She
planned a yearly celebration for the Success Building students at the end of the school year.
Mrs. Harshbarger is very intelligent, very organized, very prepared, very dedicated to the success of
students, very thoughtful in finding solutions to problems and an excellent communicator. She will be a
great administrator.
Please contact me if you would like more information about Mrs. Harshbargers qualifications.
Sincerely,
Kathy Clausen
Kathy Clausen
Assistant Principal (retired)
East High School