Tracy I. Krug, Ed.S.

Parr Elementary
5800 West 84th Avenue
tkrug@jeffco.k12.co.us​ Arvada, CO 80003 303.982.9890

April 16, 2018

To Whom it May Concern:

Jamee Stearns is well on her way to be a highly effective teacher. To put it simply, she is a
community builder, sets clear norms for the learners with high expectations and connects the learning
in the various content areas.
As a community builder, Ms. Stearns consciously provides a safe learning environment where
students are engaged in the learning and want to make their voices heard. For instance, while learners
were making connections in class they verbalized their background knowledge which allowed peer
learning to take place.
Ms. Stearns sets clear norms for her students with both oral and nonverbal representation to
manage her learners effectively to maintain a safe and engaged learning environment. Learners are
not only engaged, they are aware of what is expected and work intently to meet those high
expectations. One way Ms. Stearns was able to do this for our kindergartners was with writing. She
provided background knowledge in the areas they were being asked to write. Ms. Stearns then
modeled the writing with specific instruction on how to begin the passage. They created the rubric
together and then she and her cooperating teacher orally rehearsed what they were going to write
before they started. Every student engaged in this well supported task at high levels.
In addition, Ms. Stearns connects the various contents to assist students to reach mastery.
Specifically she was able to pull math vocabulary into the descriptive words used in her modeled
writing. She has a strong understanding on how to incorporate the contents to deepen learning.
In summary, Ms. Stearns is beginning the next chapter of having her own classroom prepared
with community building skills, classroom management skills and cross content applications in order to
provide a learning environment where learners will thrive. She is an individual I hope to have the
opportunity to work with again in the future.

Respectfully,

Tracy I. Krug, Ed.S.

Instructional Coach
Parr Elementary School