Sakeena Everett, Ph.D.

1040 West Harrison Street

1432 ETMSW, MC 147
Chicago, IL 60607
Phone: (312) 996-0886
Email: everet63@msu.edu

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great pleasure that I write a recommendation letter for Ritu Narayan as she seeks a full
time teaching position as an English Language Arts classroom instructor. Ritu is one of my
Interns for the 2016-2017 academic school year and she is expected to successfully complete her
Internship in April 2017. During her Internship she is also taking two graduate level courses per
semester at Michigan State University.

Bret Harte Elementary School is nestled within the Hyde Park community of Chicago, IL and
has just over 300 students; Bret Harte is also Title I eligible. Ritu is placed in an 8th grade
English Language Arts classroom at Bret Harte under the supervision of a Mentor Teacher (MT).
As Ritus Field Instructor, I review and provide feedback on her lesson plans, help her to think
critically about student learning and assessment, conduct formal classroom observations, and
facilitate critically reflective sessions with her about her teaching dispositions and practices.
Through these various interactions, I know Ritu as a well-organized, bright, forward-thinking,
innovative classroom instructor who is deeply passionate about teaching and learning with youth,
especially those students in urban contexts.

Ritu is interested in teaching English at the Secondary (middle school or high school)
level and using her background in Spanish and Teaching English to Speakers of Other
Languages (TESOL) to be available to all students, regardless of their first language. In
the classroom, Ive observe her activate a love of reading and writing in her students
and help each student maximize their potential. She does this by honoring cultural,
racial, linguistic, religious, and gender diversity, maintaining academic rigor, and
promoting creative application in the classroom. As an English educator, she provides
opportunities for students to engage with literacy from various perspectives and in
critical ways. During my observations, her students are constantly engaged in
discussion and excited about their emerging understandings of text, and how they will
construct meaning for themselves.

Though Ritu teaches writing within a 35-minute block of time (no small feat for any
ELA instructor), she accomplishes much by stimulating the academic and personal
development of her students. In short, in Ritus classroom, learning is both expected
and supported. All the walls in her classroom have pictures of readers and writers,
diverse book covers, instructional supports for students to refer to as needed,
motivational quotes, technological advice, and student work. The room is inviting,
colorful, and intentional about supporting student growth and development as readers
and writers. She is genuinely interested in becoming connected to people who are
different from her, and benefitting from those differences by weaving together cultural
differences. This means taking the time to get to know and understand people,
recognize stereotypes, and rise above them. It means taking advantage of the fact that
everyone has something to offer. She is working on poetry unit and encouraging students
to write pieces that they would like to share at the Poetry Slam, a schoolwide event, which she is
helping to plan and facilitate.

Beyond her classroom, Ritu has quickly immersed herself in the professional
development and culture of Bret Harte. More specifically, she is a part of the 6-8th grade
level team. She is also on the 8th grade fundraising team, so she is involved in coming up with
ideas and executing fundraising activities for the 8th grade to raise money for their end-of-the-
year trip to Washington D.C. This includes after school and during school meetings with the
other members of the 8th grade team, planning fundraisers, getting supplies together, and
organizing money. In addition, she leads the Yearbook Club, which is one of the after-school
activities available to students. They meet every Thursday after school and she leads the students
in documenting and writing about events that happen around the school. She also takes pictures
at events to include in the Yearbook and helps the students format their articles for publication.

In conclusion, I highly recommend Ritu Narayan. If her performance as an Intern is any

indication of how she would perform as a full-time teacher with her own classroom, Ritu will be
an asset to your school learning community. If you should ever need any additional information,
you can feel free to contact me at (312) 996-0886 or by email at everet63@msu.edu.

Sincerely,

Sakeena Everett, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Teacher Education
Michigan State University
everet63@msu.edu