April 23, 2019

To whom it may concern:

It is my pleasure to recommend Erin Croix for a teaching position for the 2019-2020 school year.
In the short amount of time I have been Erin’s guiding teacher, I have witnessed her strong
commitment to utilizing theory and practice to assist students from historically underrepresented
backgrounds in reaching their highest potential. Given her experience as a scholar and educator, I
am confident that she will be a valuable asset to your school community.

I first met Erin when she became a novice teacher in my third-grade classroom. Right from the
start, Erin’s commitment to educational equity manifested through her interactions with students,
parents, and staff within our school community. She embraced the challenge of serving as a
novice teacher with enthusiasm and appreciation for the opportunity to grow as an educator.

When she first entered my classroom, we co-created curricula and discussed ways to create a
democratic classroom. As a student teacher, Erin was responsible for facilitating small group
phonics lessons using 95% Group materials, assisting with classroom routines, progress
monitoring and providing targeted intervention, planning, and delivering number talks, and
eventually full time teaching all subjects. In all these areas Erin excelled, offering critical insight
and thoughtful analysis. Drawing on her years of experience working in early childhood settings,
Erin did an excellent job reflecting on her instruction and adjusting her lessons to target students’
specific needs.

Once Erin began teaching mathematics full time, she collected data in a purposeful manner to
guide her instruction. She constantly sought feedback in order to strategically target the wide
range of academic, language, social, and motivational needs of all students. As a result, she was
able to successfully engage all students, the majority of whom are English learners, in rigorous
problem solving lessons using a cognitively guided instruction approach.

Before I close, I must say that I truly believe Erin is a talented teacher whose intelligence,
commitment, love, and compassion allow her to bring out the best in her students. Erin is
incredibly knowledgeable about designing targeted and meaningful instruction and she will offer
an invaluable perspective to any school community in which she becomes a teacher.

It is without any reservation that I highly recommend Ms. Erin Croix for a teaching position at
your school. If you have any questions, please contact me through email at
haley.hood@lausd.net. Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Haley Hood
3rd Grade Teacher
24th Street Elementary