11920 South Saginaw

Grand Blanc, MI 48439

Phone: (810)591-6000
Fax: (810)591-6018
www.grandblancschools.org

December 21, 2017

To Whom It May Concern,

It is an honor to serve as a reference for Mr. Jeremy Mitchell.

I have served as a mentor to Mr. Mitchell through his administrative graduate work and internship. This
mentorship has turned into a supervisory role as Mr. Mitchell’s skill set and aptitude landed him into one
of our principal positions. Jeremy currently serves as our principal at Indian Hill Elementary which is a
K-5 setting of roughly 500 students.

During my time working with Jeremy I have found him to be the consummate educator and leader. He
takes great pride in his craft and dedicates much time to improving it through reflection and deep
conversations with colleagues. This ability to solicit feedback in an effort to continually improve is a rare
quality. In addition to the continual self-improvement that Mr. Mitchell pursues, he also works diligently
to develop his own team. This is done through building a culture of respect, trust and professionalism in
his school. He seeks stakeholder input in decision making and planning which creates ownership for all.

Although education is a calling for Mr. Mitchell it is not his first career. Jeremy served in the military for
a number of years with the 82nd Airborne. During this time he honed his craft as a leader working as
an officer responsible for other soldiers and their well-being. This time in the army helped him develop
discipline and an unparalleled work ethic grounded in perseverance. His experiences have focused his
interests as well. He continues to “connect” with the military values, ethics and morals that were
instilled in him through the implementation of the “Positivity Project”. This character education initiative
is rooted in positive psychology and is the brain child of former army cadets from West Point. Jeremy
has personally traveled to New York to meet with their leadership team and has been instrumental in
implementing the program here in Grand Blanc.

Mr. Mitchell has brought great value to our school district through his leadership and is a shining
example of what an educator should be. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Trevor Alward, Ed.D.

Deputy Superintendent

Board of Education
James D. Avery, Jr., President Curtis R. Jablonski, Vice President Susan D. Kish, Secretary Jay H. Hoffman, Treasurer
Meredith L. Anderson, Trustee Martin J. Ray, Trustee Yasmeen Y. Youngs, Trustee

Administration
Clarence Garner, Superintendent Trevor L. Alward, Ed.D., Deputy Superintendent
James P. Adams II, Director of Operations
Todd M. Rathbun, Director of Business Affairs