March 28, 2019

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with no hesitation that I write this letter of recommendation for Lauren Spencer highly supporting
her for a Secondary Teaching position. Lauren spent the past year as my student intern teaching 12th
grade Gen Ed and Advanced Placement students at Southfield HS for the Arts and Technology in
Southfield, MI. From what I’ve witnessed over the past year, I am extremely honored that Lauren asked
me to write a recommendation for her. I am quite confident that what I have seen in this time period is
truly indicative of this young woman’s ability, personality, and desire to succeed and to help her
students succeed beyond the classroom.

I was extremely pleased with Lauren’s content knowledge. Any works that she felt she was not up to par
in, she studied. If a student asked her a question she did not know the answer to, she said they would
explore it together. Lauren’s in-depth lesson planning was so thorough; I often sat in complete awe. She
is hands down the best lesson planner I have ever worked with. As a result, her in-depth knowledge
helped her create lessons that encouraged critical thinking and student engagement with the text, the
instructor, and other students. While teaching Beowulf and The Canterbury Tales, the students were
asked to relate the play’s theme to their life and the city’s current events. From the beginning to the
end, the students found a connectedness in all of the unit’s activities. What impressed me the most
about Lauren was her ability to differentiate learning and support students with IEPs and 504s. Lauren
worked to find the same articles to fit the various reading abilities; she employed graphic novels, videos,
audio recordings of the literature, and modern-day text of literature to ensure that all students
experienced success in the classroom. She successfully implemented Socratic Seminar to increase
student engagement within the poetry unit, and Lauren is quite adept at answering questions, providing
feedback, and providing specific strategies to the parents to help students improve their achievement.

I highly value Lauren as a colleague. In working with her, she truly brought out my best as a teacher and
helped me enhance my teaching skills. She never failed to bring up relevant points and thoughtful
comments; she is always open to suggestions and critiques about her performance and ideas; she has
very high ideas and standards for herself and the students; and she strives to succeed in all aspects of
the teaching profession. Lauren’s desire to succeed is reflective in her positive attitude and her
willingness to ask what went right or what went wrong or how can I do this better? I am exceedingly
confident that Lauren Spencer will make an exceptional contribution to the profession of teaching. My
only regret is that she is not joining my staff. Whoever gets her will truly be blessed by her many talents
and abilities!

Educationally,
A.Felix-Brown
Ahna Felix-Brown
National Board Certified Teacher-AYA-ELA
Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology
English Dept. Chair
Michigan State Mentor Teacher