LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION

To Whom It May Concern:

Please accept this letter of high recommendation for Kaleigh Mangiarelli. As her Simmons supervising practitioner and colleague in the Expressive Language Department at Landmark School, I have had the pleasure of working with Kaleigh for two years. Throughout this time I have watched her grow and excel as an educator. She is one of the most enthusiastic and determined teachers in our program.

I have been involved with teaching and mentoring young educators for more than 30 years at both public and private middle and high schools. It is clear from my experience that at every step of her teaching journey, Kaleigh has consistently proven to achieve high levels of professionalism, passion, creativity and conscientiousness. Her communication and teaching skills reveal an honesty and insightfulness that go above and beyond. She consistently puts her students first and displays a true sense of compassion and caring that has earned her the admiration and respect of her students, fellow teachers and administrators.

Moreover, since her first days here at Landmark Kaleigh has consistently displayed a steadfast commitment to developing herself as an educator. This past year as a Simmons practicum student she clearly excelled. She went above and beyond in her desire to reflect on her teaching, always with an explicit effort to discover and grow in the process. She has used this insight to make changes to her teaching that have positively impacted her students. Kaleigh is a true educator with a vision, honesty, imagination and joy of teaching that is evident every day.

Because of her impressive work and her professional and personal drive toward excellence, I am honored to give my highest endorsement to Kaleigh Mangiarelli.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any further questions.

Kate Anastasia

Landmark High School

Expressive Language Arts Teacher

Simmons supervising practitioner

To Whom It May Concern,

Over the past three years, I have had the pleasure of working with Kaleigh Mangiarelli at Landmark School.  At Landmark, students with language-based learning disabilities are empowered to reach their full potential. Since arriving at our school, Kaleigh has established herself as talented and dedicated teacher.  For the past two years, I have been Kaleigh’s direct supervisor in the Expressive Language Program.

Since she arrived at Landmark, Kaleigh has proven herself to be a capable and committed educator.  First, she seeks to understand and accept all students. As a result, she is a consistent presence for students who may not have always felt accepted before.  She creates safe and engaging spaces in which students are challenged to do their best and are encouraged at every step. Kaleigh takes care to learn about students’ unique patterns of strengths and weaknesses and devotes necessary time to develop a rapport with them.  Additionally, she has excellent classroom management skills and always treats students with respect and equity. Kaleigh consistently challenges her students to think critically and to consider many sides to a problem or situation. She promotes development of social-emotional skills as she encourages students to see others’ perspectives and develop empathy. Finally, Kaleigh consistently infuses creativity into her Language Arts lesson plans to help students improve their skills. While providing them with the scaffolding they need, she also brings in elements of fun, such as ESPN video clips to discuss overcoming adversity or lessons that require students to analyze literary devices and themes within popular song lyrics. Kaleigh prioritizes her students’ needs and is willing to try many strategies to effectively meet them.

As a full-time teacher, Kaleigh balances many tasks due to an incredible work ethic.  She lesson plans for six different classes each day and uses her one hour of preparation time each day to attend meetings with supervisors, complete paperwork requests, engage in professional development trainings, and attend team meetings about students.  When Kaleigh’s academic day is done, she then puts in additional time in the school’s dormitories, providing structure as students navigate after-school activities, cleaning time, and study hall. It is often after these long days that she puts time and effort into creating well-structured and engaging lesson plans that are aligned with Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, class diagnostic skills lists, and students’ Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).  In addition to this rigorous schedule, Kaleigh has been working to complete her M.S.Ed in Moderate Disabilities through Simmons College. She is able to juggle these many tasks with ease, easily meeting deadlines ahead of schedule, communicating her progress as needed, and accurately prioritizing tasks.

Kaleigh’s communication skills, both verbal and written, are strengths she brings to her profession.  She works with students whose expressive oral, written, and social skills are significantly impaired. Since many of her students have low working memory or slow processing speeds, Kaleigh uses a variety of strategies to ensure that they understand the class content and directions.  She modifies her language, provides a variety of cues, accompanies her words with visuals, and shows great patience as she interacts with students. She regularly incorporates Landmark’s Six Teaching Principles into daily lessons to ensure students’ success. In her written communication, Kaleigh is also professional and clear.  She professionally communicates student performance to her supervisors, reports on progress towards students’ IEP goals, and positively interacts with parents.

Kaleigh is an integral part of the Expressive Language program.  She readily shares lesson plans and organizational strategies, brainstorms with others, and unofficially mentors newer teachers.  She readily asks for and accepts feedback, consistently seeking to strengthen her craft. In addition, Kaleigh is a valued member of the larger Landmark community, as a soccer coach and residential staff member.  She is an approachable, positive role model for the young people she interacts with on campus. Kaleigh has an acute awareness of the ways students’ academic challenges can present themselves socially, so she approaches interactions with students with the same level of patience, planning, and support outside of the classroom.

Kaleigh is a well-respected member of our school community.  She would be a positive addition to any academic setting. Her teaching experience, work ethic, communication skills, and leadership have earned her respect at Landmark School.  I am confident that Kaleigh would positively contribute to the culture of any school setting and highly recommend her for any position for which she is qualified.

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Sincerely,

Kathryn D. Worden, M.S., Ed.

Director of Expressive Language Program

To Whom It May Concern:

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I am writing to recommend Kaleigh Mangiarelli to work within your educational setting.  I have worked with and supervised Kaleigh for five years during her time working at Landmark High School.  Landmark is a private school for high potential students with language-based learning disabilities, which focuses on developing study skills and strategies, self-advocacy, and multi-modal teaching.  In our time together, I have had the opportunity to watch her work with students in one-on-one Tutorials, Expressive Language Arts classes, and during residential coverage on the nights and weekends.  Through all interactions, I have known Kaleigh to be caring, detailed, and diligent in her work with students, and other faculty.

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For anyone who has the chance to see Kaleigh in action, the first thing that may stand out is how much she cares for her students, and their academic and emotional success.  She strives to understand them on a deeper level, so that she can know when and where it’s appropriate to push, and when and where it’s appropriate to support. That being said, what impresses me most about her is how she combines this skill with her work that happens behind the scenes.  When it comes to crafting IEPs and executing individual lessons to meet the needs of students, Kaleigh has an uncanny ability to track progress and offer accurate current performance levels. She then uses this data, combined with her understanding of the student on a more informal basis, to craft appropriate goals and corresponding objectives to shape future IEPs for that student.  Again, when suggesting what direction to guide her students, she considers both their emotional, and academic abilities in a challenging, yet compassionate way. In Kaleigh Mangiarelli, you will find an independent, aware, and highly capable teacher. I recommend her without reservation to your program.

Sincerely,

Erin Brewer

Academic Advisor

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