Thursday, March 19, 2015

To Whom It May Concern,

It is with extreme pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Debra Bonkoski. Debra
is one of the most remarkable student teachers I have had the honor to work with in thirty years
of teaching. I am supervising her student teaching experience this school year.
Debra is currently a fellow through the Mathematics for America program and, as such, is
working with my students for this entire school year. By the end of her student teaching she will
have had the opportunity to experience an entire school year; setting up her classroom,
establishing relationships with students, planning curriculum for the year. She possesses a
rigorous understanding of the mathematics, including a deep conceptual understanding, that
translates well to finding multiple ways to help students understand mathematics. One of her
greatest strengths is how she encourages students to find different methods to solving
mathematical problems.
Debra began her student teaching already possessing a natural empathy for young people and
a keen desire to work with students who have traditionally not been successful in academic
settings. Debra chose to student teach at AMES primarily because of the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the student body. Her knowledge of adolescent learners and sensitivity to
culture enabled her to establish a climate of trust and caring almost immediately. Because
Debra always thinks in terms of the best interests of her students she is not averse to
confronting students when their behavior or study habits are not to her expectations.
Debra took over all aspects of teaching in two of my freshman classes: Secondary Math I and
Secondary Math I Honors. She was responsible for all lesson planning, assessments,
classroom management, grading, parent communications, and diagnosing and remediating
individual student math deficiencies. It is very apparent that Debra believes that all students can
learn mathematics. She creates lessons that offer the opportunity for every student to engage in
meaningful mathematics despite their level of background knowledge and/or skill mastery. Her
expectation that students engage in problem solving, rather than just skill attainment, push her
mathematically proficient students by emphasizing process and justification and deemphasizing answers and speed. She eagerly embraced the AMES math departments
emphasis on problem solving and mathematical reasoning, understanding that teaching in a
traditional way has not proved successful with students who struggle in math.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
An Early College High School, Partnered with the University of Utah
5715 South 1300 East Salt Lake City, UT 84121 Phone: 801.278.9460 Fax: 801.277.3527 www.ames-slc.org

Over the course of her student teaching Debra has become quite adept at both whole-class
discussions and collaborative group work. She possesses the skills required to effectively
manage and develop deep conceptual understanding during mathematical discourse, in both
large and small groups. Debra possesses a deep understanding of the math she is teaching
and knows how to structure an effective lesson. She has developed behavior management and
questioning practices in order to develop problem solving and mathematical reasoning that is
the hallmark of the Common Core Mathematics Curriculum. She is well on her way to become
a master teacher.
Debra uses multiple formative assessment strategies, including observing and questioning
students, learning logs, exit slips, and formal exams and quizzes. She has adopted a grading
policy that has only one summative exam, which is at the end of the grading period. Debra
exemplifies the philosophy that learning takes place at different rates for different students and
that students need meaningful feedback and the opportunity to act on that feedback in order to
learn concepts deeply.
During her student teaching experience Debra has participated in faculty meetings, professional
development, and Freshman Team Meetings. Her insight of student behavior and motivation
brought a fresh point of view for the freshman teachers. In all of these settings Debra was
professional, friendly, respectful, and open to faculty and staff. She thoughtfully listened to the
varied perspectives of the faculty members and incorporated those ideas she felt enhanced her
teaching. The conversations we had about students, grading, or philosophies of teaching
caused me to think deeply about my own teaching. I often marveled at how much I was
learning from Debra.
Debra will be an exceptional teacher and leader in any school setting. Over the course of my
teaching career I have had the privilege to know only a few individuals who inspire me as a
teacher and as a human being. Debra Bonkoski is one of those individuals. I consider it an
honor to call Debra a friend. I recommend her without reservation.
Sincerely yours,

Lisa Jasumback

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
An Early College High School, Partnered with the University of Utah
5715 South 1300 East Salt Lake City, UT 84121 Phone: 801.278.9460 Fax: 801.277.3527 www.ames-slc.org