Dear Darien High School Administration, We are writing to you to advocate for the continuance of Miss. Degenhardt’s (Profe) teaching career at Darien High School. We write with the purpose to make you aware of Profe’s profound impact on the community and the growth of her students both in the context of academics and ethics; her notable qualities and dedication to her profession are of a role model. While Profe’s style of teaching is unorthodox at some points, this unorthodoxy provides students with a diverse and meaningful education in an otherwise, orthodox day. A quality that is central to Profe’s teaching and persona is her receptiveness to student opinion, which in our opinion should be a constant in all student-teacher relationships. For example, if a student feels that a decision in terms of either a grade or punishment she made was unjust, Profe is fully open to a one-on-one discussion, either during a mutual free or before or after school. Profe’s actions reject the notion of “my way or the highway” and epitomize the characteristic of open-mindedness: a quality that is crucial in our increasingly globally connected society. For a personal anecdote, during a student’s sophomore year he felt that he did not deserve grade X; therefore, he approached Profe and asked to meet with her before school. The student and Profe discussed the grade and while the grade remained unchanged, he had a better understanding as to why he received grade X and how he can avoid receiving grade X in the future. In another, unrelated circumstance, Profe organizes an annual in-class food drive to afford families in the Bronx a decent Thanksgiving meal, which reveals her altruism and devotion to paying it forward. Moments such as these are what define Profe’s impact and overall career to DHS and academia. As a community, we are here to support a teacher who has supported us. Thank you in advance for your time.
Sincerely,
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