May 21, 2019

Mr. Curt Ellis

Human Resources Dept.
Saline Area Schools
7265 N. Saline-Ann Arbor Rd.
Saline, MI 48176

Curt:

I am writing this letter as a recommendation for Jesse Spicer for the position of
Assistant Principal at Heritage School. I have worked with Jesse for two years as a
fifth-grade teacher. During this time, Jesse and I have worked together on different
projects in large and small groups.
The greatest amount of time we’ve worked together was on the rollout of the MTSS
Reading Intervention at Heritage. We spent last year as part of a cohort planning the
implementation, and this year we started the Reading Interventions with our two classes
using the MTSS model. Over the year, Jesse was organized, creative, and hard
working to gather resources and prepare lessons to help our students grow. He also
showed flexibility and a willingness to take on new responsibilities as the needs of our
students changed. In addition, Jesse used his prior knowledge of the NWEA platform of
assessments and reports to help the group better use the NWEA data and resources.
He also reached out to staff in other buildings around the district for support when he
knew they had resources we could use. His efforts were vital in the successful
implementation of the MTSS program at Heritage.
Jesse has also worked in a leadership capacity on our School Improvement
Committee for the last two years. This year, he lead the development of small teams of
teachers who focused on subjects they felt they needed to grow in. These were
subjects like “How to Use NWEA Reports for Student Growth” and “How to Increase
Student Engagement.” He and the School Improvement Committee were concerned
that the staff felt the time spent, and experience and knowledge obtained were relevant
to our needs as teachers. Thanks to this focus, I think the teachers ended the year
feeling their School Improvement time was well spent.
In addition, Jesse’s concern with the teachers’ well-being is consistent with the way I
see him interact with his students. He has excellent rapport with his students, and my
students enjoyed their time in his classroom during the Reading Intervention period. It
is clear that he cares about his students and they care about him. This is an important
quality for success as a school administrator.
 Finally, when we were at Fifth Grade Camp together, I observed how Jesse
interacted with his parent chaperones. He communicated with them in a respectful way
and seemed comfortable doing so. If a child was misbehaving in front of their parent,
he stepped in politely and stopped the inappropriate behavior. The ability to address
the social, emotional, and physical needs of a child with their parent is another
important quality for success as a school administrator.
Jesse has been a welcome addition to the teaching staff at Heritage. He
encourages us to spend more time interacting with one another. As a result, we all feel
more connected as a staff.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Lynn Adams