March 28, 2019

To Whom It May Concern:

Maura Jones has asked me to provide a letter of reference, and I am delighted to do

so. I have known Maura for approximately two years. I first became acquainted with
Maura in her role as a coach for Spartan Success Scholars. In MSU’s Spartan Success
Scholars program, students who might benefit from extra support during their
transition to college (e.g., first generation college students) were assigned a near-peer
coach who could help them navigate the university and college life. In the College of
Education, we also made our success coaches available to students on academic
probation. Maura did excellent work in this capacity. While there were many
challenges, she was always caring, compassionate and resourceful.

I became better acquainted with Maura when I hired her as a tutor. Although the
university offers math support through the MSU Math Learning Center, I wanted to
give students in the College of Education something more. We decided to pilot a
tutoring program of our own and I hired Maura as our first tutor. In this role, she
supported students taking a range of mathematics courses as well as students
preparing to take/retake the ACT or SAT (a requirement for admission to the teacher
preparation program). At that point, Maura had been trained and hired as an
Undergraduate Learning Assistant (ULA) by the Department of Mathematics. This
meant that she was providing mathematics instruction, tutoring in the Math Learning
Center, proctoring math exams and grading quizzes/exams under the supervision of
the Math Department. In addition, we arranged for her to have additional “test prep”
training for the ACT and SAT at MSU’s Collaborative Learning Center. Maura was
College of outstanding in this role. We received very favorable feedback from the students she
Education tutored. She was very knowledgeable about mathematics, knew how to tailor her
instruction to individual student needs and related well to a diverse range of students.
She was always reliable and dependable. We were very sorry when she left to do her
Susan Dalebout
Assistant Dean
full-time teaching internship.
Certification Officer
I am confident that Maura will be a terrific teacher and an asset to any district
College of Education fortunate enough to hire her. She has my unqualified recommendation and support.
Student Affairs Office Please do not hesitate to let me know if you have questions.
620 Farm Lane
Room 134
East Lansing, MI 48824 Sincerely,
517-353-9680
Fax: 517-432-2718
education.msu.edu

Susan Dalebout, Ph.D.

Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, College of Education
MSU Certification Officer
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1034
(517) 353-5054; FAX: (517) 432-2718
sdd@msu.edu
MSU is an affirmative-action,
equal-opportunity employer.