Tom McCall Upper Elementary School

1255 Pacific Avenue ● Forest Grove, Oregon 97116 ● (503) 359-2506 ● Fax: (503) 359-2566
Seth Jones, Principal Bryan Gamble, Dean Of Students

To Whom It May Concern,

It is my pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Jake Tucker. I have supervised Mr.
Tucker throughout the 2018-19 school year as both a 5th grade Math/Science teacher as well
his Site Supervisor while completing his administrative Practicum. Throughout each of these
experiences Mr. Tucker has consistently demonstrated a commitment to excellence, abundant
creativity, resilience and a strong work ethic.

As a classroom teacher, Mr. Tucker is a super star. Our professional development has focused
on the importance of having strong relationships with students, providing culturally relevant
instruction, demonstrating vulnerability, ensuring students are engaged in high levels of
intellectual work, and fostering resilience. I have directly observed Mr. Tucker addressing each
of these elements in his instruction. He has remarkably strong relationships with students,
provides consistent culturally relevant instruction, models vulnerability, has his students work
much harder than him throughout each lesson, and intentionally fosters resilience in his
students. Mr. Tucker is also supporting a student teacher this year and it is evident that his
student teacher has a strong relationship with Mr. Tucker is making great progress with our
students.

As an administrative intern, Mr. Tucker has made the most of every leadership opportunity
made available to him. He is in the process of creating our master schedule for next year. After
hours of work on this schedule, I have routinely brought up numerous changes that need to be
made, which he has quickly done. Yesterday he met with our Assistant Superintendent, our
district math coordinator, and me to update our master schedule in how we will provide
advanced math for all students next year. He was able to take input from a few of us, listen
attentively, and then offer a clear suggestion that resulted in unanimous support. In just over
thirty minutes, Mr. Tucker helped up resolve a complicated issue. Mr. Tucker has also filled in
for our Dean of Students for a few days. While supporting struggling students and sharing
information with families, Mr. Tucker has demonstrated the ability to learn from mistakes and be
responsive to feedback. In addition to this work, Mr. Tucker is our Assessment Coordinator, is
supervising a student teacher, is a member of our Leadership Team, Equity Team, PBIS Team,
and is the acting Chair of our Building Site Council.

In summary, Mr. Tucker is a talented and dedicated educator that has worked extremely hard
this year to stretch himself in successfully taking on quite a few leadership roles this year. I
believe that Mr. Tucker has demonstrated that he has the aptitude, temperament, disposition,
and work ethic to be a successful building administrator in a K-12 setting.

Sincerely,

Seth Jones