Ms.

Carla Whitaker
Bordentown Regional Middle School
50 Dunns Mill Road
Bordentown, NJ 08505
May 5, 2017

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing on behalf of Natalina Focarelli, and have served as her cooperating teacher
during the second half of her student teaching assignment that began January 23, 2017.
Natalina has been responsible for three Resource Room/Special Education Language Arts
classes: two sixth-grade and one seventh-grade.

I have been an educator for sixteen years in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In that
time, I have been lucky to work with some talented future teachers, many who went on to
have successful careers in education. A handful of these student teachers had admirable
strengths such as: well-prepared lesson plans, interesting class activities, good parental
communication skills, excellent classroom management skills, positive rapport with the
students, and a willingness and effort to collaborate with co-workers. Natalina has
exceeded my already high expectations.

Natalinas lesson plans are thorough, interesting, and full of rich supplemental activities
of her own creation. She is able to examine and follow the curriculum while enriching
each lesson with tailor-made activities and assessments based on student needs, interests,
and abilities. Moreover, Natalina recognizes that during each lesson there are times when
she needs to pivot and she always does so with incredible ease. When teaching three
Resource Room classes with 100% of the population having IEPs and varying special
needs, this is no easy task. Whether the material is proving a bit too difficult for the
students, a bit too easy, or an opportunity for a teachable moment arises, Natalina always
comes through. Her ability to think on her feet is comparable to that of a teacher with
much more experience. She is constantly impressive.

During her time in my classroom, Natalina has made every effort to communicate
effectively with colleagues with both positive news and requests for advice. Our
colleagues respond to her optimism and positive attitude. Natalina has become a part of
our work family and has earned the respect and admiration of our staff. Natalina
comes to faculty meetings, PLC (Professional Learning Community) meetings, and
parent teacher conferences. Natalina is always looking for ways to improve upon her
skill set and collaborate with other professionals. She is very aware that teaching is a
team effort and has become incredibly skilled at gleaning the best advice from her co-
workers as well as sharing the things that worked best in our classroom.

Perhaps the most astounding thing I have witnessed in my time working with Natalina is
her incredible rapport with students. Rarely in my career have I seen anyone with such a
natural ability to connect. I have seen shy students become excited and happy to learn; I
have seen jaded students really care about their work, all because Natalina provides them
with a safe and happy environment in which to learn. She really gets to know each
student and makes an effort to give individualized attention both for academic success
and so they know that they matter to her. Her classroom management has been
impeccable. Because her relationship with the students is so outstanding, behavior falls
into place.

In summary, Natalina has displayed the qualities that make a teacher successful and so
much more. She is dependable, motivated, and is in tune with the needs of her students.
She works well with colleagues and administration and is able to learn from those around
her. Natalina has been an absolute joy to work with and I have learned much from her. I
very highly recommend her for a teaching position. Any school would be incredibly
fortunate to have her on the team. Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further
information.

Sincerely,

Carla M. Whitaker

Language Arts Teacher

Special Education

Bordentown Regional Middle School