LAB SCHOOL FOR COLLABORATIVE STUDIES (M412)

333 WEST 17 STREET

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10011
ANOLTING@LABMIDDLESCHOOL.COM, 612.802.3642
December 30, 2015
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to recommend Una Miller for a leadership position in the field of education. I have taught for six years, the
first two of which I had the privilege of working with Mrs. Miller at MS 131, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Middle School. It is in large
part due to Mrs. Millers support and demonstrated leadership that I made the decision to make a lifetime commitment to
teaching. At MS 131, Mrs. Millers door was always open. Through observing Mrs. Miller teach, and through my individual
coaching sessions with her, I became inspired to emulate the success I saw in her classroom. Mrs. Miller taught me how to
track student learning data in order to achieve specific measurable learning outcomes. She also showed me how to design
and execute projects in a way that allowed for students to take charge of their own learning. Although Mrs. Miller provided
me with the tools necessary to persevere through my first years teaching she also did much more than that: she taught me
to love teaching.
During my second year teaching at MS 131, I observed Mrs. Millers teaching on a weekly basis. As I began my
observations my principal explained to me the best way to see Mrs. Millers success. She said, Dont watch she does.
Watch what the kids do. Watching Mrs. Millers students showed me the impact of great teaching in action. I observed
Mrs. Millers students work independently and persistently as each child constructed a persuasive argument about which
amendment in the Bill of Rights he or she believed to be most important. So engaged was each student in this task that no
child required teacher prodding to stay on task. Students were provided with written and verbal instructions each step of
the way. One of the major takeaways I got from observing Mrs. Miller was that I saw that students could perform at very
high levels when instruction was well-designed and all steps of the process were clearly and precisely modeled. Mrs. Miller
also showed me how to design authentic learning tasks. One of the authentic learning tasks that stood out to me the most
was when students created an exhibit for an in-class slavery museum. Students worked as historians would, collaborating
with one another to examine primary historical documents and create an exhibit that presented both a particular perspective
on slavery and a depiction of one aspect of slavery. Furthermore, as students worked on this project they were able to
measure their own progress and self-assess their own ability to meet their goals. Each day, students would record their
learning goal for the day in a learning log. As they completed different aspects of the project, students noted the steps
they successfully completed that day. Students would end the class with a reflection on the steps they had completed that
day and what their next steps to complete the project would be.
At MS 131 Mrs. Miller was the Head of the Social Studies Department. What stood about about Mrs. Millers leadership
was her ability to coordinate a group of diverse people and ensure that we got things done. These were not abstract
brainstorming sessions. We achieved concrete goals and we did so as a team. Under Mrs. Millers leadership we created a
Common Core-Aligned Social Studies Writing Rubric. We worked together to create the rubric based on skills that would
be essential for students to write strong Document-Based essays. Furthermore, Mrs. Miller provided excellent leaderships
when sixth grade teachers were concerned that the skills on the rubric would be too challenging for students new to middle
school writing. Mrs. Miller worked with teachers from all grades to ensure that the skills we were assessing would be
applicable from year to year. She also worked with the department to develop vertical alignment of these skills that could be
assessed on both short and longer writing pieces, therefore encompassing the academic requirements needs for all grade
levels. Furthermore, Mrs. Miller fostered an environment where we all would learn from one another. At MS 131 she
initiated the Japanese Lesson Study program. Teachers in one grade drafted a lesson and their colleagues teaching the
same subject and grade level would teach the lesson subsequent times, making improvements along the way. The entire
department would then debrief the observation process and decide upon the best ways to modify the original lesson in
order to create a lesson that would be best suited for teaching Social Studies students at that grade level.
Although Una Miller has many accomplishments, she impacted me most directly through her times as a Social Studies
Coach. I grew tremendously as a second year teacher almost entirely as a result of my work with Mrs. Miller. At the

beginning of my second year Mrs. Miller had just assumed her role as a Social Studies coach. Although many first year
teachers face challenges, mine had been especially trying. I approached Mrs. Miller in tears during the first week of school.
She ensured me that I was going to have an excellent school year, filled with well-planned projects, inspiring lessons and
results for my students. We worked together on an an often bi-weekly basis throughout the school year. Mrs. Miller taught
me how to create inquiry based student-centered projects. With Mrs. Millers guidance I created rubrics to anchor my
project around essential Common Core research and writing skills. When I had a vision for a project but had difficulty
determining a structure, Mrs Miller would coach me through the process of creating a well-articulated sequence, centered
around rigorous academic standards. One example of this was when I wanted students to evaluate immigration narratives
through the lens of current immigration legislation. With Mrs. Millers support, I created a lesson where students read
immigration profiles and were able to analyze whether each person would meet all five requirements of the DREAM Act.
Under Mrs. Millers guidance I became adept at using data to track student growth. Mrs. Miller and I used the data to
address specific learning needs for one class in particular, that had a large number of ELLs and special education students.
Lastly, I want to emphasize the greatest gifts that Mrs. Miller gave me: confidence and motivation. During my second year
teaching Mrs. Miller emphasized one of my greatest strengths. She saw that for a full class of students, I could describe the
strengths and weaknesses of each and every students writing. Mrs. Miller motivated me when she would tell me you really
know your students. This specific praise gave me confidence and also inspired me to take the next step and pushed me to
set individualized goals for students.
Mrs. Miller has had a tremendous impact on my growth as a teacher. She truly leads by example.

Best,
Anne Nolting