February12,2016

ToWhomItMayConcern:

Haveyouevermetyoureducationalkindredspirit?WellIhave,andhernameisAllisonLaFalce.Ms.
LaFalceembracesmanyofthephilosophiesIsubscribetoandisoneoftheonlypeopleIvemetwhoworks
justashardasIdotomakeherclassroomthebestlearningenvironmentshecanforeachoneofher
students.Sheisacreative,passionate,andcaringteacherwholiftsothersupandspreadsbestpracticeto
everyonesheworkswith.Sheisafountainofknowledgeandatreasuretroveofresources.Everyschool
needsanAllisonLaFalce!

IwasfortunateenoughtoworkwithMs.LaFalcefortwoyearsandwasdisappointedwhenourschoolhad
toletgoofseveralexcellentteachersfrommanyofourbuildingsduetobudgetcutsandadministrative
decisions.Iknowthatshewouldnothavebeenletgoiftherewereanywaytohavekepther.Itwasduring
thesetwoyearsthatMs.LaFalceandIdevelopedourPassionTimemodelsandauthenticallyintegrated
technologyintomoreofourlessons.Ibelievethatwebothbenefittedtremendouslyfromeachothers
risktakingandcontinuousneedtoimprove.

EveryconversationthatIveeverhadwithMs.LaFalceinvolvedatleastonestoryofoneofheramazing
studentsandwhattheydidthatimpressedherormadeherproud.Shealwaysfindsthebestineachchild
andhastheuncannyabilityofturninganegativesituationintoapositiveone!Herearesomeadditional
waysthatMs.LaFalcedemonstratescareforeachofherstudents:
StartseachweekwithaSocialEmotionallessonbasedonstudentneeds.
Createslessonswithherschoolpsychologistandsocialworkertomeetstudentneeds.
PilotedResponsiveClassroom.
Givesout"Studentoftheweek"honorsforthosethatexemplifythe21stCenturyWordofthe
Week.
Usesthe753Techniqueforstudentswhostruggletomonitortheirbehavior.Shespends1:1
timewiththestudentswhoneeditmostandallocateshertimeeachdayasfollows:7minutesfor
thehighestneed,then5,then3.Thisistobuildapersonalbondbetweenstudent&teacher.
LeadsParentInfoNightstoupdateparentsonprogress,expectations,andvolunteeropportunities
withintheclassroom.Studentscomeinandshowcasetheirlearning.
Haslunchwithherstudentsseveraltimeseachweektodevelopstrongrelationships.
Organizedadigital"bulletinboard"spacewherestudentsarehighlightedbothforacademicsandfor
kindbehaviors(anditssharedwithparents,students,andadministrators).

Ms.LafalceisoneofthemostpassionateteachersIveevermet.Sheisalwaysseekingoutnewideasand
techtoolstouseinherlessons,tryingtofindbetterwaystoteach,andcollaboratingwithotherstoaddress
problemareasintheclassroom.HerearesomeotherwaysthatMs.Lafalceshowspassioninherwork:
Thinksaboutwhateachstudentneedstoaccessinformationinalessonandprovidesthe
necessarilymaterials.
Creates/uses/findsactivitiesorvideosortradebooksto"hook"kidsonanewunitortocreateprior
knowledgethatisrelatable.
Createsselfpacedunitsusingessentialquestionsandvarioustypesofdigitalandnondigital
resourcesandmanipulatives.
Allowsformultiplemodalities(writing,speakingandrecording,actingout)tobeusedwhenstudents
arecreatingshowcasesoftheirlearningonadailybasis.
Assessesandprovidesfeedbackonadailybasis.

Makesherselfavailabletostudentsbeforeandafterschoolforstudentstogetadditionalhelp.
Meaningfullyintegratestechnologyintomanyofherlessons.
Setsupexpectations,routinesandproceduresthatallowstudentstobeleadersintheclassroom.
Dedicateshoursuponhoursofherpersonaltimeoutsideofschoolhoursforherstudents.
Collaborateswithsupportstaffregularlytoensureallstudents'needsarebeingmetinthebest
wayspossible.
Sharesknowledgewithstaffmemberssotheycanbeasexcitedabouttryingnewbestpractices
and21stCenturylearningstrategiesassheis.
Readsprofessionalbooksandotherresearchtosolveproblemsintheclassroomandfurtherrefine
hereducationalphilosophy.

Someteachersgetthereputationforbeingconsideredcreative,andsomeareknownforstealinggreat
ideasfromothers.Ms.Lafalceisboth.Shecomesupwithamazingideasthatshegeneratesthroughher
owncreativeprocess,andsheadaptsothersideaseffectivelyinmyriadways.Herearesomeexamplesof
hercreativegenius:
UtilizingBreakoutEDUtoencouragecriticalthinkingandcollaboration.
Revampedthe4thgradesciencecurriculumandearnedayear'sworthofsciencemanipulatives
andexperimentmaterialsthroughagrantfortheMuseumofScience&Industry.Thenmetwith
museumstafftodesignengaginglessons.
DevelopedanEarthDayprojectwherestudentsaretakingwastefromlunchestocompostandadd
toagardentheyplanted.
Developeddigitalbookclubsandmoderatedthemoverbreaksfromschool(spring/winterbreak).
Attacheddigitalbooktrailersforherentireclassroomlibrary!

Ms.LaFalcetrulyembracestransformativetechnologyusageinherclassroom.Shedesignslessonsthat
utilizetoolsthatengageandhelpstudentslearninformationmoreeffectivelythanbeforetechnologywas
used.Evenmoreimportantly,sheintegratestechtoolsintoactivitiesthatstudentscanusethemselves.
1:1iPadenvironment.
GamifiedherclassroomusingClasscraft.
Focusesonthemodificationandredefinitionlevels(SAMRModel)formanyofherlessons.
LeaderoftheiSWATTechnologyClub.
Integratesactivitiesintotheclassroomthatincreaseengagementandfocusoncreationsuchas
augmentedreality,Minecraft,iStopMotion,etc.
Facilitatesa"GeniusBar"helpdeskatallschoolevents,forparentsorstudentstotroubleshoot
technologyproblems.
MaintainsastudentcreatedYouTubechannelwithtutorialstheyvecreatedexplainingmathtopics.
DevelopediTunesUcoursesforselfpacedenrichmentexploration.

Finally,Ms.LaFalceisasocialbeingwholovessharingherideas,learningfromcoworkers,and
collaboratingwithotherstodesignengagingcourseworkandfun,newwaysoflearning.Shehasbeen
consideredoneofthestrongestleadersinthebuildingsthatshehasworked,andhercolleaguesarevery
comfortablelearningwithherandplanninglessonstogether.Herearesomeexamples:
Createdaweekly"techbyte"thathighlightsanewapporprogramthatmaybehelpfulforstudents.
Sentouttostaffandisstudentmade.
Selectedgreenscreenforschoolandledastaffmeetingwithstudentsonitsuse.
IstheGiftedLiasonforgrades35.
SentiSWATTechnologyClubstudentstosupportclassroomswhenneeded.

FacilitatedWatchD.O.G.S.(adadparentingprogram)andSuperM.O.M.S.programwithinthe
schooltoincreaseparentinvolvementinandoutsideoftheschoolday
AsamemberoftheLeadershipTeam,sheworkedonallschoolinitiativesforschoolimprovement
Led10+staffmeetings.
StartedawholeschoolGeniusHourandledtheeveningeventtosharewithparents.

Asateacherandleader,IfeelverycomfortableprovidingMs.Lafalceastrongreference.Asallgreat
leadersandeducatorsdo,shefocusesoncontinuouslylearningandgrowingtoprovidethebest
opportunitiesforherstudents,staff,andcommunity.Ifyouhaveanyfurtherquestions,pleasefeelfreeto
contactmethroughmypersonalnumber(8474630756)oremail(
psolarz@sd25.org
),asIwouldbehappy
toanswerthemforyou.

Sincerely,

PaulA.Solarz
Author,LearnLikeaPIRATE
5thGradeTeacher
WestgateElementarySchool
ArlingtonHeights,IL