1. Circle Greenwich Elementary School
Circle Greenwich Elementary School
3250 N. Greenwich Road
Wichita, Kansas 67226
Phone Number 316-315-4000
District Fax Number 316-536-2249
Don Coffman, Principal
dcoffman@usd375.org
Stefanie Beckman, Counselor
sbeckman@usd375.org
February 22, 2015
To Whom It May Concern,
This letter is in recommendation of Christine Funke. I have had the privilege of being Miss Funke’s mentor teacher
during Fall 2014, when she began her student teaching experience in our building. She did an exceptional job while
working in my first grade classroom and, without a doubt, will make a great teacher.
Miss Funke can best be described as exemplifying the qualities of the “total” educator. She was always going
above and beyond to ensure that she provided the best learning experience for the students. Her high level of or-
ganization made the experience enjoyable as she handled taking over instruction and daily routines with ease. Even
from the start of her experience, there was not a moment of hesitation. She always took on tasks head on and
proved that she was willing to take risks.
During her times of instruction, Miss Funke always created a welcoming classroom environment. She was always
wearing an infectious smile and the students knew they could always count on a hug from her if they needed one.
Her consistency with her classroom management skills meant that the students knew her expectations and there-
fore, there were very few behavior problems. Miss Funke also worked very hard to build rapport with families as
she greeted them during drop-off and pick-up times and also by helping with the weekly newsletters that were sent
home. She understands the importance of partnering with families in the education of their children.
Professionally, Miss Funke learned the value of collecting student data and its role in making instructional deci-
sions. On some occasions Miss Funke met with our grade level team to collaborate about curriculum and technolo-
gy topics. As a part of her student teaching experience, I challenged her to integrate technology into her lessons,
which she did seamlessly. In addition to technology, she also included visual aides, songs and hands-on experienc-
es to ensure that the students had the best learning experiences.
With the challenges that the new Kansas College and Career Readiness Standards bring to our curriculum, Miss
Funke took on the challenge of creating higher order thinking projects that tied in to the themes in the curriculum. I
am confident that she will use this experience to continue to challenge the students in her own classroom and hold
them to the highest educational expectations.
As you can see, Miss Funke has already made quite the impact while being a part of my classroom and has laid the
groundwork for having a classroom of her own one day. I am confident that her abilities and her teachable spirit
will make her an excellent candidate for a teaching position at your school. In addition, Miss Funke will not only
be an asset to the students, but to the school, the staff and to the community around.
Thank you,
Kurt Geilenfeldt
First Grade Teacher
Circle Greenwich Elementary
(316) 315-4000
kgeilenfeldt@usd375.org