April 15, 2010

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing this letter on behalf of Shaina Johnston, whom I’ve known for three years as an English teacher

at Overland High School. In the time that I have known Shaina, she has proven to be a creative, passionate,

and hardworking and dedicated educator.

Always willing to step up to a challenge, Shaina definitely brings her creativity to the table. She is willing to

help with anything and everything, including the drama program, summer curriculum development,

teambuilding activities and multiple workshops. In every workshop that I have attended with Shaina, she

provides good ideas along with her enthusiasm. She has helped with costumes for all of the plays and

presentations here at Overland. She is so creative in everything she does and even organized and ordered

English department “archetype” t-shirts for the Friday celebration of our teachers. We all love them and wear

them with pride. She is also creative in her lesson planning for ninth grade English and her British Literature

classes. Passion mixed with creativity makes Shaina a quality teacher.

Shaina is also passionate and versatile. She loves being a teacher and brings that to her students everyday. It

is clear when I sit in her classroom that she cares deeply for her students and spends a lot of her time working

to be a better teacher. As a former coach, I would say that one of Shaina’s greatest qualities is that, because

of her passion, she wants to always improve her craft and is extremely coachable. She is willing to learn and

grow and do whatever is necessary to be the best teacher that she can be. I see a lot of myself in her because

she craves new ideas and techniques and has such passion for what she does. I truly respect and admire

Shaina as a lifelong learner who exudes passion.

Finally, she has respect from her colleagues because she is so dedicated and hardworking. She doesn’t

hesitate to volunteer or help or pick up the slack whenever it’s needed. She came in over the summer to help

with curriculum development and then stayed after everyone else left and came in on her own to finish

hanging our novel posters in the English hallways. She was the only one who offered to do that. She is a part

of our literacy lab and gets constant feedback from her peers about how to become a better teacher, which, to

me, shows an amazing amount of dedication.

I am so impressed with Shaina’s enthusiasm for teaching, and I know that she will be a wonderful asset to any

school. Most of all, Shaina loves her students and her career as a teacher.

Sincerely,

Kelly Deaton Landen

Kelly Deaton Landen English Department Coordinator Overland High School

Cherry Creek Schools

12400 East Jewell Avenue Aurora, CO 80012 720.747.3781

klanden@cherrycreekschools.org