April 25th, 2018

To whom it may concern,

I am pleased to have the privilege of offering a reference letter for Mr. Andrew Sharrock for
employment as a band director for the 2018-19 school year. Having known and worked with Andrew
this past year, it is evident that his accomplishments and positive contributions to the Luther Jackson
Middle School Band Program not only helped our students maintain musical and academic maturity, but
he has also helped them gain confidence in learning and mastering a challenging curriculum.

Andrew came to Luther Jackson Middle School in January of this year, where he stepped into my role as
Interim Band Director during my maternity leave. During my absence, Andrew has continued to
extensively develop the expectations and high standards of our students’ knowledge and performance
techniques; he willingly embraced a program of almost 300 students with ease, and guided them
through State Assessment with a rather successful and impressive outcome. After only a short amount
of time with each ensemble, Andrew helped each group achieve a rating of Superior, the highest rating
attainable. Since then, he has continued to use his experience and expertise when planning their
curriculum; between a plethora of well-structured lessons, and his continuous selections of prestigious
and challenging repertoire, Andrew has been prompt in setting clear expectations and encouraging our
students to be life-long learners, while continuing to embrace and encourage their creative experiences.

It is evident through Andrew’s extracurricular outreach commitments and opportunities that he has
created a highly respected professional rank among his peers and colleagues. Andrew continues to take
it upon himself to build on his own professional knowledge, as well as the knowledge of those in his
respective field. While observing Andrew these last two semesters, it is easy to respect and applaud him
for his professional judgment and wisdom; he has continued to prioritize his interests in the growth of
our ensembles, but also in the growth of the students as both individuals and musicians. More than that,
however, is his innate ability to continue fostering our students love and appreciation of Music
Education, as well as his effortless ability to estimate what our students need in order to reach new
levels of understanding. Andrew has an unbreakable dedication to commitment in scholarly exchange
and intellectual exploration; he has an unbelievable ability and capacity for personal development, and
the positive development of his colleagues and students. In addition to the above accomplishments,
Andrew displays all of the qualities and maturity of a middle school band director. Through his
witnessed collegiality and citizenship in our schools academic community, I strongly believe that Andrew
is capable of furthering the interests of Irving Middle School, just as he has at Luther Jackson Middle
School.

In summary, on the basis of Andrew’s multiple accomplishments, contributions to music education,

research, teaching, and nurturing appreciation of academic growth, I believe that Andrew would serve
as a critical resource and role model in the efforts to support any school’s mission and vision. I
appreciate the opportunity to speak on Andrew’s behalf. It would be an honor and a privilege to call him
a colleague in our profession.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Respectfully,

Jenna G. Peterson
Director of Bands
Luther Jackson Middle School
Falls Church, Virginia
(703) 581-2426
jgpeterson@fcps.edu