It is with great privilege and honor that I write this letter as a peer observer of Hannah Lynch for her
Evaluation Process. From my initial contact with Hannah during her job interview at Bay to my
current daily work with her, I continue to be impressed with her immense work ethic, insightful lesson
designs, thoughtful classroom presentation and commitment to her own and her students growth
mindset. She is a most valued colleague and friend; I am deeply grateful for her presence at the Bay
School.
In terms of lesson planning, I will focus here on the lessons I observed in Chemistry 1B. Hannahs
students were working on a capstone project to end their Chemistry course. The project asked students
to apply the chemistry they had learned to the environmental issue of ocean acidification (OA). The
final product was a video that had required content and the flexibility for students to be creative in its
format. The project was well scaffolded: students were directed through experiments to further their
understanding of the concepts of OA while also spiraling back to previously learned chemistry that
they needed to apply to OA and portray in the video. Students worked diligently through the
experiments, initiating discussions within their groups of how the results before them related to the
overarching question, and how they could use the experimental results within the script of their video.
While keeping tabs on everyone in the room, Hannah efficiently identified groups that were
struggling with this work and guided them to better understanding. Although I didnt see the final
products, I know from teaching students who have done this project that they retain a solid
understanding of this material.
I work with Hannah almost daily on lesson plans for the Biology 1 course -- which gives me bias as
well as great insight into her lesson planning. Hannah is thoughtful in her use of diverse pedagogy,
and also consistently reflects on the effectiveness of lessons. Because of this, the Biology lessons are
never stagnant and always getting better.
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when students dont perform well on an assessment. Typically her disappointment fuels her redesign
of lessons for the next iteration of the course. She also holds herself to a very high standard when
grading written work of students. To her credit, she wants to provide accurate and constructive
feedback as well as a fair grade, but the time that this takes can consume her. Finding a more efficient
way to do this will help her sustainability.
In the larger department setting, Hannah is a frequent contributor to discussions ranging from the
mission critical (like identification of core content and skills for a science student and the impact of
schedule changes on science courses) to the more humdrum but necessary things like ordering of new
equipment. Despite being early in her career as a teacher, she contributes as an equal and is highly
respected by our team.
As a teacher, Hannah has also been willing to challenge herself, particularly when the science team
needed her help. Last year, she took on developing a new courses (Human Health and Disease) and
pushed herself to incorporate project based learning concepts into the new curriculum. She also
sought advice and feedback from others in the creation of this course. For a teacher in her second year
at the school, this new course was a challenge which Hannah handled with the steadiness of a veteran.
It is my distinct honor to work with Hannah and to be able to observe the many ways in which her
impact on this community helps make Bay the exceptional place it is. We are truly lucky to have
Hannah as a member of our faculty.
Sincerely,
Nettie Kelly