Dr Cythia Gause - Vega
June 18, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is written in recommendation of Matt Robson who is currently completing his tenth year as a teacher at the International School of Prague. In my 30 years as a teacher, administrator, and staff developer, it has been the competent, highly committed, and caring teachers like Matt who make a difference in children’s lives. I have been the principal at ISP for six years. During my first two years at ISP, I worked closely with Matt as a grade 5 teacher. I recommend Matt as an international educator whose broad cultural experience, love of children and continued interest in learning will be a valuable asset to the students and community of any international school he chooses as his new professional home.

Matt’s classroom was well organized to support children’s academic progress and social-emotional development. He effectively orchestrated small group and individual learning in ways that support children in learning self-discipline and organizational skills, while focusing on the academic task at hand. Whenever I entered his classroom, the children were always actively engaged in a variety of learning tasks. Matt was particularly good at relating to, and reaching, students who were struggling with behavior and / or academics. I watched on several occasions as he listened thoughtfully and empathetically, still laying out clear expectations for the future and building a relationship with students that made them feel safe to participate appropriately and take risks in the classroom.

During the two years I worked with Matt, the elementary faculty at ISP devoted significant time and energy to developing standards-based units of inquiry using backward design and structuring learning to develop children’s understanding of big ideas in content. It was a period of significant change requiring additional time and energy from faculty. Matt’s work on the grade 5 units provided evidence of his own understanding of inquiry and the complexity of scaffolding learning to foster children’s natural curiosity, understanding of big ideas, and meeting content standards. In grade level team meetings he supported colleagues in thinking through core ideas of units and articulating essential questions that are generative and engage children’s thinking about the desired content. He was consistently flexible and positive and willing to engage in trying new approaches that could effectively support his students’ learning. I witnessed him consistently share his own ideas, as well as thoughtfully listen to, consider, and build on other’s ideas.

During his tenure at ISP Matt has put his heart and soul into contributing to the ISP community, giving his all to his students, collaborating with colleagues in the revision and development of units and curriculum, and actively participating in school-wide initiatives. As his principal, I knew I could always trust Matt to deal with any concerns in the most professional, thoughtful and direct manner possible. I recommend Matt without hesitation as an experienced international teacher whose commitment to his students’ learning and development and his constructive interactions with colleagues will make any school the better for his presence. I would be happy to provide further information in support of Matt’s application.

Sincerely,

Dr. Cynthia L. Gause-Vega
Elementary Principal, The International School of Prague
cvega@isp.cz , tele: +420/220 384 132


Tony Mobbs
June 17, 2011

To whom it may concern:

This is my eighth year of working with Matthew Robson at ISP. I am the Curriculum Coordinator and have spent a lot of time working with Matt on various committees and in my a role as Curriculum Coordinator

Matthew has an excellent relationship with all students and creates a very supportive and positive atmosphere in his classroom. His lessons are well planned and he clearly communicates his expectations to the students. As a result his lessons are varied in approach and I see students fully engaged in a variety of activities.

Matthew is part of a very successful grade team, who has been collaborating on integrated projects, such as Interdependence in a Global World, with other subject areas. He is also part of a very “cutting edge” Language Arts/Social Studies department, who have shifted away from a content-based course to focus and allow the students to develop “real world” skills. The Curator Project was showcased at the recent Apple World Education summit held at ISP in 2010.

The Middle School is implementing a standards based recording system based on a set of easily accessible rubrics focusing on student self-assessment. He sets goals with students based on these rubrics and a skills continuum.

His work has been used in teacher / parent conferences for the last two years and he has had an extremely positive response from parents.

Before moving to Middle School Matthew was the grade 5 coordinator with a responsibility for leading grade curriculum development.  His professional development has stemmed from 4 appraisals and developing appraisal 'folders,' whilst working on a daily basis with colleagues and attending a variety of yearly conferences.

Matthew is very versatile, coaching football and tennis each year, and prior to joining ISP 10 years ago he was Upper Elementary School coordinator, Physical Education coordinator and a swimming teacher at Riverside School. He was also the Head of Pastoral Care at The English College in Prague.

I would recommend Matthew for any upper school positions, whether in the classroom or on the sports field and know that a school would benefit from his caring and informed approach.

Sincerely,

Tony Mobbs
I.S.P Curriculum Coordinator
tmobbs@isp.cz