November 21th, 2013 To whom it may concern, Young Hoon Elementary School was founded in 1965 and is accredited

with the Ministry of Education in Seoul. The current population is approximately 848 with between 128 and 144 students enrolled in grades one to six. In 1997, YH became the first school to develop and deliver an immersion program and is now considered the premier immersion school in Korea. In 2012, YH was fully authorized as a Cambridge Primary and International School. Dana Smith was employed as a full-time grade one classroom teacher from March 2nd, 2011 to February 19th, 2014. She was required to teach 32/36 students in the subject areas of: English Language Arts (Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing) Math, Science and Social Studies. She worked as part of the grade one team, within a team of 24 qualified English-speaking teachers. She shared her class with a Korean partner teacher and worked in an 'open plan' situation. Her full-time teaching load was complicated by a very rigid timetabling situation, extremely high parental expectations, ESL students with wide ranging exposure to the English language and a new Cambridge Primary Curriculum. Being a grade 1 teacher at YH is the most challenging and rewarding position in the school. Dana quickly adapted her skill set in Art education for the difficult situation mentioned above by being: a quick learner, very organized, creative, patient and flexible. Her determination to support all types of learners and behaviors and the wonderful creativity used to make learning fun are a few of the many reasons why Dana has been so successful in this school culture. She is well liked by the entire staff (English and Korean), admin and parents due to her communication skills, sense of humor, caring personality, and her commitment to supporting the vision of the school. After formally observing Dana, I see a teacher that has found the important balance of keeping learning fun and relevant, yet well-structured through clever use of routines and strategies (critical at grade 1 level). She understands that students should be at the center of their learning, but knows for this to be possible, all the students must first respect the core systems that are in place, understand what is expected of them, and know that it is fair. This has been clearly evidence in her carefully scaffolded use of learning centres during guided reading groups and one to one teaching time. Dana dedicates herself to her students and displays a strong passion for new learning. All the students in her class love being there and are keen to learn. She is an excellent role model for both her students and her peers. As an experienced member of the grade 1 team, she has used her creative thinking skills to help solve planning issues during the challenging implementation of the new Cambridge curriculum. She has been of great support to new teachers in providing advice for how to work in the special culture of the school and to live in the country itself. She has shown the ability to create interesting and relevant lessons across all the subject areas that her peers could easily follow, teach and enjoy. Her lessons followed the core principals of understanding by design and always included: a clearly stated learning intention, success criteria, modeling for, with, releasing responsibility, and a final reflection. With a strong background in Art education, Dana was responsible for most creative based lessons and outcomes. This included author study units on picture book author and illustrators Eric Carle and Mo Willems. Her peers relied heavily on her ideas, technical skill and planning strategies to be able to deliver the lessons into their own classrooms. All the students across grade 1, enjoyed the visually exciting and kinesthetic lessons and always looked forward to doing more. Dana clearly sees the value of technology as tool for achieving learning outcomes. She has the shown the technical skill required to effectively use a variety of software/programs including: SMART board interactivity (Notebook), Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, Reading A-Z, Raz Kids, Photoshop, Literacy by Design and uses Google Apps in team planning and sharing. Teaching in Korea has helped Dana understand the challenges of working and living in a new environment. I know she will take a great deal away from her time here and that she will implement what she learned into any teaching situation. As the current Assistant Director at Young Hoon Elementary School, I have no concerns whatsoever about Dana as a person and a teacher. I can highly recommend her to any school at which she applies. Yours truly, Richard Druery Assistant Director Ph: 82-2-944-7834 Mob: 82 10 4146 2351 Email: richard.druery@gmail.com