February 23, 2017

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Blane,

I am contacting you as result of my concern for Danny Blanes performance. I want to say first
and foremost that Danny demonstrates higher level organizational skills. When it comes to
Dannys relationship to the content in this Biology, Danny is exceling in many areas of the
scientific method and reading comprehension of the scientific articles assigned in class.
My concern relates to Dannys behavior when it comes to group lab work and student
collaboration. When an activity is given to the students as a group and Danny is struggling with
the particular task, he tends to shut out peer assistance by shouting at the other students that he
doesnt need their help. On occasion, Danny has even resisted my own assistance. For example,
the students were working on a natural selection lab where they act as different species trying to
obtain the same prey. Danny was struggling with the concept that different adaptations make
certain species more suitable for catching specific prey when filling out their packets. Anthony
tried to offer Danny assistance, when Danny immediately turned away from Anthony and
inappropriately shouted at Anthony. When I came to address the interaction, Danny would not
speak to me or apologize for rudely declining Anthonys assistance. This type of interaction has
occurred several times in the past couple weeks.
According to class policies, students are not to shout at one another for it detracts from the
classroom environment and makes other students feel threatened or uncomfortable and distracts
from their learning. After an interaction like this occurs, the procedures for addressing it are
usually for the student to apologize and explain why they felt the way they did. When a student
refuses, the student is given a verbal warning. The second time, the student and teacher sit down
and fill out a brief improvement plan. The third time, I contact the parents with the plan (this
letter), the fourth time is lunch detention and the fifth is office referral.
I completely understand the frustration that overcomes a student at times of academic struggle. It
is embarrassing for a student in front of their peers and it is completely normal for Danny to feel
defensive and vulnerable when he struggles. My solution to help Danny comes in three steps.
First, I would like your help in communicating to Danny that my classroom is a place
where mistakes and struggle are not occurrences to be embarrassed or ashamed of. But
rather, my classroom is a place where students and I are eager to help each other
overcome those obstacles and grow as much as possible.
Second, I want to develop a strategy that Danny can use to help himself calm down when
he is frustrated. The technique I propose is one where Danny is allowed to remove
himself briefly from the activity to take deep breathes or get a drink of water to allow him
time to calm himself. After he has done so, he is to return to the problem and ask for
assistance if he is still struggling.
 Lastly, I would like to suggest that Danny keep a log of how he feels during times of
frustration. Anytime Danny feels stressed in a group activity, he would complete step two
and then write a brief description of how he felt when he got frustrated and why he thinks
it made him felt that way. That way, Dannys growth can be recorded and built upon.
Being that Danny is an excellent student and I feel that every student has the ability to overcome
any obstacle in their path, I am eager to implement this plan and make Danny feel like we are all
here to help him. Danny has overcome many struggles in his academic growth thus far and I
have all the faith in the world that he has the ability to tackle this struggle as well with the help
of his parents, his peers and myself. Please feel free to contact me as soon as possible to continue
to push forward in this plan so I can adapt to your own personal preference and accommodate to
what Danny actually needs from me to succeed in my classroom.

Sincerely,
Abigail Vogt

Classroom Phone (7:00am-4:00pm): 480-***-**** Email: abigail.e.vogt135955@gmail.com