Valerie Thrasher

Dynamic professional with a proven track record at Stillwater Public Schools, excelling in program instruction and relationship building. Skilled in planning engaging activities that foster confidence and self-esteem among students. Committed to positive engagement and effective communication, ensuring a supportive and inclusive environment for all participants.

• Town and Gown Board of Directors (3 years)
• Town and Gown VP (1 year)
• Stillwater Lady Elks VP (1 year)
• Stillwater Lady elks President (1 year)
• Town and Gown Activities committee chair (2023-current)
• Town and Gown Short Play Festival Committee co-chair (2024-current)
• Troupe D'Jour Board of Directors (6 years)

• Graduated Summa Cum Laude

• Teacher certified in the state of Arizona

Letter 1: 

May 2023 

To whom it may concern: It is a real pleasure and personal honor for me to write this letter of recommendation for Mrs. Valerie Thrasher. Valerie  graduated in May of this year with Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University. She did her student teaching for a full semester at Sangre Ridge Elementary School in Stillwater, OK and did an outstanding job. I had the opportunity to serve as the university supervisor for Mrs. Thrasher during her student teaching on the fourth-grade level. I would like to briefly explain the Grand Canyon program in that it is a fully accredited program where the students take classes over a period of almost two years and then spend a full semester teaching under the supervision of a well qualified cooperating teacher and a university supervisor contracted by Grand Canyon University. I have had extensive experience in supervising student teachers having directed the student teaching in the highly recognized teacher education program for the professional educator's license program at Mount Vernon Nazarene University (OH) and just retired from Indiana Wesleyan University in history and education. I also worked as a teacher and administrator for over twenty years in P-12 schools so am not working with student teachers in a vacuum. I say all of that to say this, Valerie Thrasher is an outstanding educator who has great creativity, classroom management skills and academic expertise. She knows her subject very well; she knows her methodology; she knows her goals and the Oklahoma Standards; and she engages her students and how best to instruct them. She is a tremendously hard worker and all her lessons were prepared with diligence, but with the understanding of the Standards and with the use of a variety of teaching strategies and models. She has excellent classroom management skills and the class is focused and yet students are enjoying being in her class. She used technology to enhance her teaching- as a tool that assisted her students in understanding and comprehending the subject matter. She dealt with the diversity of learning styles and socioeconomic status very adroitly and was outstanding in her reaching the goals that she and her cooperating teacher set out. Her creativity and passion for teaching come through in watching her teach. She really has the respect, attention, and connection with the students. She is a committed and dedicated teacher who would serve your school well. She is truly one quality young teacher. In today, there are few educators that I have worked with of whom I could say that I think the school that hires them will not only benefit, but will see outstanding results. Valerie is not only well qualified, well prepared, and well trained, she is one of the best educators that I have had the privilege to observe, counsel, and assist in all my years of education. If I were hiring a teacher, I would hire her in a minute, that is how strongly I feel about this young lady. With no reservations whatsoever, I give Valerie Thrasher my absolutely highest recommendation, and urge you to strongly consider her application. If you have any further questions or need to have more in-depth answers or communication, please feel free to contact me. I thank you for your time. 

Sincerely, 

David R. Arnold, Ed. D, 

Personal Email: draiwu@gmail.com 

Phone: 740-398-8339

Letter 2: 

May 4, 2023 

To Whom It May Concern: We are the proud 4th grade students of Mrs. Lantz's Math classes at Sangre Ridge Elementary School. We would like to recommend our student teacher, Ms. Thrasher for a teaching position at your school. Here are the reasons that we think she would make a wonderful teacher: Ms. Thrasher is always there when we need help. She is really fun and makes learning awesome! She plays games with us. She helps people all the time. Ms. Thrasher is always nice and has a smile on her face. She makes math fun and easy to learn. She is so kind and helps us a lot. She is patient and helps us with the questions we have. She is funny. She gave us M&Ms to time how long it takes to melt in our hands and we made a graph. Ms. Thrasher is a great student teacher who made math fun. She reads to us and is super smart. She plays trivia games with us. She helps me when I don't understand something. Ms. Thrasher let us make 3D shapes with marshmallows. She is proud of our work and lets us display it. She is always calm, even when we are loud. She is so smart and helps us learn in a fun way. She lets us play Jeopardy. She is really good at teaching Math. She reads to us every day. Ms. Thrasher writes things out so we can understand it. She is a great teacher! 

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Lantz's 4th Grade Math Classes

Letter 3:  

To Whom it may concern, 

I am writing to recommend Valerie Thrasher for the teaching position you currently have available. We worked alongside each other at Stillwater Middle school for several years where she severed as the Academic Center Teacher. I was the Library Media Assistant and roomed right next to her. As a colleague, Valerie was always attentive to the student's needs, as well as caring, understanding, and dedicated to helping the students and staff whenever needed. During her time at SMS, she managed to help many students excel in their future. Her professionalism is off the charts. Valerie is a delight to work with and I wouldn't hesitate to work with her again. Should you have any further questions about her, feel free to reach me at 580/362-7207. 

Thanks, 

Angela Gee SMS LMA

Letter four: 

To whom it may concern: 

It is my pleasure to provide a recommendation for Valerie Thrasher. I have known Ms. Thrasher professionally for the past six years. Until very recently she served as the Academic Center Instructor at Stillwater Middle School. I work as an instructional Coach at Still water Middle School. Instructional coaches collaborate with teachers to accelerate learning for all students by building teacher capacity through implementation of effective instructional practices. I have worked closely with Ms. Thrasher and have seen first-hand what a great teacher she is. Ms. Thrasher works to build relationships with both students and teachers. She has a positive personality, and it is a pleasure to work with her. Ms. Thrashes works diligently to make sure everything she does is the best. She invests in kids and helps to instill in them strong, positive character traits. She takes time to explain to students why things are or are not appropriate and what changes would help them be a better person. You can tell that she genuinely enjoys being with kids and working with students. In addition, she understands that some students need different accommodations. She would work with students to make sure they understood a concept. She frequently went above and above to help students learn information. She was a huge asset to our school. Another area where Ms. Thrashes excels is in working with adults. She is a kind and considerate colleague. During Covid she reached out to business and got donations and made the teachers gifts which included things like hand-sanitizer, candy, etc. This provided a much-needed boost to our school and was greatly appreciated. Ms. Thrasher is a talented artist and would often volunteer to help teachers make things they needed for instruction or for bulletin boards. She has done things like this on numerous occasions. She would also work to develop good relationships with teachers because she understood that these relationships would benefit the students. Ms. Thrasher is collaborative, intelligent and positive. She would be a great addition to your team. lf I can provide any additional information for Ms. Thrasher, please contact me at (405) 240-7815 or email me at khutchens@stillwaterschools.com 

Sincerely, 

Karyn Hutchens Instructional Coach Stillwater Middle School