Brenda Baldassano Assistant Principal West Aurora School District 129 McCleery Elementary School 1002 Illinois Avenue

Aurora, IL 60506 (630)723-8397 bbaldassano@sd129.org April 2, 2014 Dear Hiring Official: It is a pleasure to submit this letter of reference and recommendation on behalf of Ms. Erica Pang, as she seeks a teaching position within your district. I have known Erica for 2 years now, and she is certainly a skilled and talented educator! For the past three years, Erica has been an asset to the West Aurora School District 129 teaching team as a bilingual student educator, a summer school instructor, and a bilingual teacher. She demonstrates a student-centered approach to her work whether she is working with students themselves, families, or with the teaching staff. She is accessible, approachable, and an energetic and motivational presence at the schools where she has served. This feedback is consistent from her experiences at both Greenman Elementary School and Hall Elementary School. I served as her direct supervisor and evaluator at Hall Elementary School. Erica is someone who goes above and beyond as an educator to demonstrate caring for the community and giving back to her field. During her time at Hall, she reached out to the bilingual community by planning literacy nights to increase parental involvement in the school environment as well as motivate her students to a love of reading. In addition, she worked with the bilingual team to plan and organize monthly bilingual parent meetings that focused on specific topics of interest to integrate parents into their childs school and education. Erica clearly believes in educating the whole child and partnering with families. Erica has wonderful follow through and leadership traits. In her time at Hall, she took on many leadership opportunities. She assisted in coordinating and leading the third grade team in utilizing technology to collect and progress monitor data to make evidenced-based decisions for specific reading interventions that students receive. She also collaborated with her grade level team, bilingual team, reading specialists, and behavior specialists on analyzing data to make decisions that would have a positive impact on student growth. If I had a bilingual teaching position open at McCleery Elementary School, I would certainly welcome an applicant whose presence, demeanor, and great work ethic is immediately apparent. You will not go wrong if you take a chance on Ms. Erica Pang. If I may provide any additional information as you review candidates for consideration, please do not hesitate to contact me at (630)723-8397. Respectfully Yours, Brenda Baldassano, Ed.S.