June 5, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Ms. Lauren Rodriguez. Since the inception of
our professional acquaintance, Fall 2008 at Curie Metro High School, I have been consistently impressed with
Laurens commitment to excellence, inspired innovation and creativity, and exemplary professional mien.

During her tenure, Lauren has become an exemplary instructional leader. Her work in creating such innovative
units like: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian where students are asked to see the world through
others eyes, as well as realize how negative self talk affects them; The Hobbit which works in conjunction with the
The Heros Unit. Not only does the book work seamlessly with the unit, and helps to bring the Heros Journey
to life for the students, but Lauren took it a step further and was able to get a grant for the books, so that Curie did
not have to pay one penny towards 120 copies of the novel; both units were so well done that many of the English 1
teachers followed suit, and integrated her passionate units into their curriculum. In fact, many other instructional
tools, some of which I collaborated with her on, have been circulating the department. This only highlights her
collaborative spirit, and has garnered her the professional respect she so deserves.

Personally, I have had the privilege of not only using her units, but of having the ability to collaborate with her in
creating some of the most fascinating units that I use within my freshman class. Together we worked on the
Dystopia unit. This was her baby that she allowed me to come in on after the fact, because I was so in awe of
what she was doing in her class. The idea stemmed from the fact that currently Dystopia novels are flying off the
shelves for young adult readers, and so she wanted to take this genre, and add it to her curriculum. Students are
differentiated by reading levels, and then taken to the library for book talks, so that they can choose their dystopia
novel based on their lexile score. All these things wouldnt have been possible to do without her technical savvy
which helped us find the lexile score for each student, and eventually create a test to find the lexile score once the
school no longer funded the program which we so desperately needed. This unit is by far the best unit of the school
year, and the students love it. All of this would not be possible without Laurens passion for her classroom, and for
her consistent push for excellence, not only from her students, but of what she gives and does.

Organization is also a cornerstone of what Laurens professionalism. Easily one of the most organized instructors
in the department, Lauren is able to manage and excel in a myriad of professional and extracurricular tasks.
Whether it be Team Leader, Co-Department Chair, Teacher, Sponsor for clubs, or selfless co-worker, Lauren
achieves success at the highest level.

One of the greatest measurements of Laurens success; however, are her students feedback. Many students have
explicitly shared with me that Ms. Rodriguez has prepared them for rigorous coursework required in courses like
Advanced Placement. Students enjoy learning in her class, and they always speak very highly of her.

Sincerely,


Melissa Ayala
English Instructor
AVID III Elective Instructor
AVID Sponsor
Curie Metro High School