Sage Sutphen

Letter of Recommendation
May 1, 2015
It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for
Sage Sutphen. I know Ms Sutphen as her field site supervisor for her
student teaching experience in the Sonoma State University Multiple
Subject Teaching Credential Program. I wish to convey my highest
regard for Sage Sutphen as one of the most talented and motivated
teacher education candidates with whom I have ever worked, and one
of the most successful. Ms Sutphen is now an accomplished novice.
From her previous employment as a classroom aide, Sage learned a
great deal. Now she has the formal education on curriculum,
assessment and planning to connect to her extensive knowledge of
children and management.
Ms Sutphen impressed all who worked with her at the field site where
she was placed during the two semesters of her credential program,
fall 2014 and spring 2015. By the end of her fulltime student teaching,
Sage Sutphen has demonstrated a deep understanding of standardsbased curriculum (especially Common Core) that provides an
opportunity for all children to learn. She was a great success as a
student teacher (and substitute teacher on many days) throughout the
term. Though I write a great deal of letters of recommendation in my
role as Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies and Field
Supervisor, Sage Sutphen is a shining star and an exceptionally
accomplished new teacher who deserves special consideration and I
hope this letter will convey as much to the reader.
Sage Sutphen had two significant student teaching placements, as do
all candidates in the program. Both semesters, Sage was placed at
Apple Blossom School, in Sebastopol, California. The first placement
was in a Kindergarten classroom. This field experience entailed
observing two days per week while simultaneously taking several
methods courses at the university. In this first classroom, Sage taught
lessons, learned the curriculum, collaborated with the other
kindergarten teachers, and was supportive of all the other student
teachers at the same time. In the following semester, Ms Sutphen was
placed in a first grade classroom. It is normally the case that we try to
place student teachers in an early grade as well as an upper grade
over the course of the two semesters. However, because Sage has so
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much experience as a fourth grade classroom paid aide, an exception

was made and she now has both kinder and first grade along with
fourth grade as part of her repertoire.
Sage Sutphen created and taught outstanding lessons for her
Performance Assessment for California Teachers Teaching Event (PACT
TE). The basis of the TE was to teach her class about biography. The
three to five lesson plans, linked by content focus and based in
language arts, were very successful. Her video tape of teaching in the
TE was outstanding clearly showing her ability to manage students and
teach using rich curriculum. Though not working in a racially diverse
setting, the school has an extremely wide range of students
socioeconomically, from wealthy entrepreneurial families in the high
tech inductry, to ranchers who have lived on same land for
generations, from conservative religious-based families to progressive
and liberal non-traditional families. Sage Sutphen taught effectively
and honestly to all. Her assessments, drawn from the lessons, were
seriously analyzed and used to determine next steps. And finally, the
required reflections on the whole PACT TE process were deep,
enthusiastically thorough and showed what an astute knower Sage is
of her students as well as of herself.
Sage Sutphen was also successful at her two week take-over. During
this solo time, Sage maintained the usual plans and operations of the
class seamlessly. However, her additional and new practices included a
continued focus on writers workshop with these emerging first grade
writers. I observed several lessons wherein students gained significant
skills in peer editing, and rewriting based on interviews they had
conducted through the biography unit. In the takeover weeks Ms
Sutphen also wrote the newsletter home, taught geometry and created
several tasks to continue teaching how to tell time. She was successful
at both whole class as well as smaller learning center planning and
teaching. And her big project included linking earth day, science and
social studies with lessons about recycling. Classroom management
was always strong whenever I observed Ms Sutphen teaching.
In addition to her classroom success, Ms Sutphen was active in all
school site professional development and after school trainings. She
became familiar with the host of support personnel such as the special
education resource teachers, counselors, psychologists, speech and
hearing therapists, after school staff, the P.E. teacher and others. Ms
Sutphen learned how to interact with all these educators on a daily
basis. She consistently behaved professionally and became a trusted
member of the school community dedicated to helping all the children
in her room be successful. She enforced all school practices and
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policies as she learned about them, and could be counted on to

support the mission of the school.
Sage Sutphen taught all subjects. She created lesson plans and carried
out meaningful experiences for the children in language arts, math,
social studies, writing, art, P.E., and spelling. She learned to foster
social skills, help children abide classroom rules, and maintained a safe
and warm learning environment. She was skilled at using the ELMO
document reader when appropriate. In debriefing lessons, Sage was
always open to suggestions and able to explain the thinking behind her
actions and planning. She was also articulate and forthright when
critiquing her peers.
Sage Sutphen has it allthe skills, the experience, the desire, the
energy, the creativity, and the attitude to be a tremendous elementary
classroom teacher. It has been a gift to get to work with her. I hope you
will contact me with any questions regarding her student teaching
performance so I can convey my respect for this new teacher and
underscore her extraordinary talents.
Sincerely,

Paula Lane
Paula J. Lane, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies, Field Supervisor
Literacy Studies and Elementary Education Department (LSEE)
Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati, Rohnert Park, CA 94928
Cell: 707.322.2368, Office: 707.664.3292, Email:
paula.lane@sonoma.edu