Morrice Area Schools

William T. Heath
Superintendent/Secondary Principal
111 E. Mason St. Morrice, MI 48857
517-625-3142 fax 517-625-3866

Kelly M. Roe Troy B. Perkins
Elementary Principal Dean of Students
111 E. Mason Street 691 Purdy Lane
Morrice, Michigan 48857-0318

March 24, 2014


To Whom It May Concern,

It is an honor and pleasure to recommend Stephanie Mahoney for an elementary classroom
teaching position. Ms. Mahoney displayed passion, dedication, and professionalism throughout her
five month teaching internship in a second and third grade combination class at Morrice Elementary
School. Stephanie was able to effectively manage 27 students in a combination class using positive
behavior support. As the lead teacher she created a classroom culture of respect and safety, where
students felt comfortable to take risks.
Throughout her internship, Ms. Mahoney was able to engage students in meaningful learning in
a variety of ways. Stephanie used technology to spark student interest through informational glogs,
virtual manipulatives, projectable books, and content area videos. In both math and science students
were engaged in hands on learning stations, games, and experiments. During a social studies unit on
helping the community, Stephanie engaged the students in a bake sale project to help support a local
community food bank.
Ms. Mahoney demonstrated a passion for improving teaching and learning throughout her
internship at Morrice Elementary School. In the classroom student achievement was her main concern.
After each lesson she assessed student learning, re-taught content as necessary, and reassessed student
learning to determine mastery. Stephanie sought out multiple training opportunities in the following
areas; Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Learning Skills (DiBELS), data analysis and intervention
planning, Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), running records for reading progress
monitoring, attended the Michigan Reading Association Annual Conference, as well as observed other
highly effective teachers in their classrooms.
Ms. Mahoney was also engaged in the school community; she was an active part of the school
reading month committee, participated in preparing reading month events, led parent-teacher
conferences, and participated in all district wide professional development and staff meetings.
Given Ms. Mahoneys innumerable strengths, I believe that she is a strong candidate for your
elementary teaching position. Please feel free to contact me concerning Stephanies internship
experience. I look forward to speaking with you.

Sincerely,


Elizabeth Findlay
2
nd
and 3
rd
Grade Combination Teacher
Morrice Elementary School
(517)899-6069
Findlay@morrice.k12.mi.us