Excite, Engage, Empower

MARY ELLEN HENDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL

A FALLS CHURCH CITY PUBLIC SCHOOL

7130 Leesburg Pike Falls Church, Virginia 22043 (703) 720-5700 Fax: (703) 720-5710
June 15, 2015
To Whom It May Concern:
I am happy to write this letter recommending Courtney Benedick for a position in your school system. She is a
dedicated educator and would be an excellent addition to any school division. I evaluated Mrs. Benedick this
school year and it was a pleasure to watch her teach. She is an exceptional teacher with high expectations for
every student. Mrs. Benedick does a great job of providing engaging project based learning opportunities for
her students by integrating technology into her class with multiple programs such as, iMovie, Padlet and Prezi,
as well as through the use of her Weebly website. The students enjoy her class and respect and admire Mrs.
Benedick.
Mrs. Benedick has been a sixth grade language arts and social studies teacher in Falls Church City, Virginia
for 12 years. She has successfully planned, written and implemented numerous curricula including the Social
Studies Unit Planners for MYP (Middle Years Program). Mrs. Benedick is a team player and she has an
abundance of experience in a co-teaching environment with special education and ESOL (English for
Speakers of Other Languages) students. She collaborates well with her co-teachers. She is an advocate for all
of her students and makes sure that their needs are being met.
She works with teachers across the curriculum to plan projects for 6th graders such as the National History
Day project; a research based project that involves history and language arts. She also vertically collaborates
with 7th and 8th grade teachers in language arts and social studies. Mrs. Benedick participates in arts
integration by having her students write, record and perform songs from the Civil Rights Movement with the
choir teacher. She is a leader among her team members.
Mrs. Benedick creates lasting relationships with students. The students enjoy her class because she is
creative, fair, flexible and caring. She supports current and former students by attending their sporting events,
musicals, and concerts. You can often see her in the hallway having a conversation with a student about their
soccer game over the weekend or what book they are reading. She genuinely cares about each and every one
of her students. Her former students always come back to say hi and let her know how they are doing.
Mrs. Benedick will be an asset to any school and you will benefit by having her on your team.
For any additional information, please contact me at (703) 720-5703 or at harrist@fccps.org.
Sincerely,
Ty Harris
Principal
Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School

Ty Harris
Principal

Jon Pepper
Assistant Principal

Alyssa Jacobson
Director of Counseling

Matthew Sowers
Counselor

Afton Cordoba
Counselor