College of Education Information & Resources for Mentor Teachers: Guidelines for Writing a Letter of Recommendation
At the conclusion of the student teaching experience, mentor teachers will generally be asked to write a letter of recommendation by their student teacher. Please wait for them to ask, this is an important piece to becoming a professional. The following suggestions may be used to assist you in representing their performance to a potential employer.
- Please use school letterhead to write the letter of recommendation.
- Please use the name of the student teacher several times within
the text of the letter. Since students often go by a shortened version
of their first name, please ask them by which name they would like to
be referred.
- Include a brief description of the school and community in your letter. This will give the reader a context within which to interpret the information you are giving them.
- Mention the grade level(s) and courses or subject matter taught by the student teacher.
- Use brief examples or anecdotes in describing two or three strengths you observed in your student teacher. Please relate these to the TSPC standards that are being used to evaluate them on both the midterm and summary evaluations.
- Comment on the future or potential of your student teacher as a classroom teacher.
- Please limit the letter of recommendation to one or two pages.
You will find more suggestions on page 25 of the Mentor Teacher Handbook.