April 25, 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

The purpose of this letter is to introduce you to Deborah Ford. Ms. Ford teaches Special Education at Ardmore High School. She is an important member of our instructional family. She has the intellect and discipline to succeed in pursuit of an advanced degree while managing a fulltime job. Deborah will be a valued member of your learning community and I recommend her without hesitation.

Kim Holland

Gina Berger

3140 Cardinal Dr.

Ardmore, OK 73401

Re:  Letter of Recommendation

 I, Gina Berger, have known Deborah Ford for fifteen years. We work in the Ardmore City Schools together. Until this year, she has taught at the elementary level and I have taught at the secondary level. I am very excited to be working with her this year.  She has brought new ideas, materials, and expectations to our program. She works well with the faculty and staff at Ardmore High School, has high expectations for the students in the program and is eager to teach these students.

When I have observed her in meetings, she has been cordial to parents, even when they are not cordial to her. She is a welcome addition to our faculty.

Sincerely,

Gina Berger

Special Education Teacher and

Team Leader

Ardmore High School

Re: Letter of Recommendation

I, Shirley Murphy, have known Deborah Ford for 16 years. I was the Director of Special Education Services in Ardmore City Schools for seven years, and have served as a school psychologist for the district since retiring. Deborah has been a special education teacher under my supervision during that time.

Over the years, I have watched her grow to be a commendable teacher. When we first started working together, other teachers were very resistive to the changes being implemented. Deborah was accepting of criticism and encouraging of others during this time. She would accept new positions with courage and a sense of adventure. She remains calm in a time of crisis. In 1999, the building where she was positioned burned. Many classrooms were totally destroyed. She was naturally upset, but continued working with dignity and professionalism. Her classroom was relocated two times after the fire, but education continued in spite of the obstacles. She has a persevering attitude. I promoted her to the head of Special Services at Franklin Elementary, and asked her to straighten out the paperwork snafus that had occurred there. She completed this task within one year. She continued to lead the Special Education program there for five years. Then she was moved to Jefferson Elementary to accomplish the same thing. She remained there for seven years and was asked to move to Ardmore High School due to her certifications. I have sat with her during meetings with parents of students with special education needs. During these meetings, she was always professional, showed attention to the comments, concerns and questions posed by the parents. She made them feel welcome and an important part of the team. She would go out of her way to accommodate the needs of the parents for these meetings. If for some reason the parent could not meet at the specified time, she would use her personal cellular phone to include the parent by phone conference (she did this because the phone in her class did not have a speaker and her cellular phone had one).

Because of her skills in teaching students with special education needs, her interpersonal skills with parents, I would recommend her for teaching adults seeking additional education.

Sincerely,

Shirley Murphy,

School Psychologist

Ardmore City Schools