Tracy Bolander

1225 28th St.

West Des Moines, IA 50266
November 6, 2016

To whom it may concern,

I am pleased to recommend Tara for a teaching position. I was her mentor teacher during her first
student teaching placement at Drake Head Start for eight weeks between August 2016 through
October 2016. Tara was always on time as well as creative in her lesson plans. During her time
in my classroom she grew in her knowledge and confidence in being a lead teacher.

Tara built a relationship with each of the children, learned their likes, dislikes, and became
someone they could trust and count on. Through that relationship she developed interesting
lesson plans built around their interests. As her confidence grew so did her teaching skills. She
developed fun and interesting activities that built and developed the childrens skills. Tara also
participated in trainings such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS). These
skills helped with challenging behaviors that were encountered in the classroom. She used these
skills to help children learn skills to eventually solve problems on their own for example using a
solution wall to come up with a solution to a social problem in the classroom. She also used
these skills to point out the positive and to talk with parents about their children and their day.

Tara grew in her teaching skills and confidence over the eight weeks she student taught in my
classroom. I believe as her skills and confidence grows she will become a tremendous teacher.
For these reasons I believe Tara will be a great asset to any school and classroom.

Sincerely,

Tracy Bolander
Tracy Bolander
Drake Head Start Teacher
515-271-4092

tracy.bolander@drake.edu