A.

Iwalani Harris
138 Amau Road
Hilo, HI 96720
(808) 982-4210
April 2, 2015
Dear Sir or Madam:
It is my honor to write this letter in support of Maggi Wigmostas application for this teaching position there in
Washington. I have known Maggi since July of 2011 when she was hired to work at Keaau Elementary School as a fifth
grade teacher and I was a third grade teacher. Maggi was an integral part of helping to unify her grade level colleagues
because she showed leadership in content, interpersonal skills and her commitment to her students. During her three
years in that grade level, students made significant gains on the statewide assessments in both Reading and Math,
inclusive of her students who had both learning and behavioral challenges.
This school year, Maggi took on a new challenge and position as one of three Academic Review Team coaches,
specifically as the schools Program Implementation coach. At the same time, I stepped into the Vice (Assistant)
Principals line. Throughout this school year Maggi was able to broaden her influence both in and out of school as
described below:

Facilitate weekly Professional Learning Communities (PLC) for all grade levels (Kindergarten 5th grade), which
included meeting with 40 teachers by grade level to discuss academic and behavioral progress and formation of
intervention supports.
Host visitations from various teachers & administrators who desired to understand curriculum and technology
implementation.
Participate in the schools Onsite School Review process which includes classroom observation, data analysis,
progress monitoring, coaching support in instructional strategies & classroom management)
Contributed in the creation of a Complex-wide (District-wide) pacing guides for both Reading and Math
Created and maintained our school-level Google Apps for Education (GAFE) implementation usage (shared
calendars, staff web page, Google classroom etc.) as well as our digital curriculum (Reading Wonders,
Achieve3000 and Stepping Stones) and our online assessment programs (DIBELS and i-Ready)
Provide technology in-service for all teachers to support all their levels of digital implementation knowledge
Presented at a statewide Common Core Institute conference and Digital Learning & Technology Implementation
conferences
Worked collaboratively with two User Support Technicians (UST) to ensure that all teachers and staff have
consistent online access
Member of our schools Executive Board, Leadership Council and School Community Council
Facilitated our schools Family Nights on topics like Technology Implementation, Reading & Math Curriculum Reading Wonders and Stepping Stones, and Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium
Tutors at-risk 2nd graders before school for reading

I have been at Keaau Elementary School for twenty-three years. I have worked in a variety of roles (classroom teacher,
school-level coach, curriculum coordinator, vice principal). Maggi continually impressed me each time I had the
opportunity to work with her, as she was always willing to support our staff and students. For all these reasons, Maggi
will make an awesome addition to your staff. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at the
number or address above.

Best regards,
A. Iwalani Harris