Martha Maya recommends Patricia Diaz for an administrative or instructional leadership position. As principal of Lakeview Elementary, Ms. Diaz led strategic planning efforts and professional learning communities to improve student achievement. She implemented literacy and intervention programs and aligned curriculum through common assessments. As an educational consultant, Ms. Diaz mentored principals and teachers, facilitating curriculum alignment and data analysis. Ms. Diaz has the skills and expertise to serve as an effective administrator or instructional leader.

1. Martha Maya
1485 N. Chester Ave Pasadena, CA 91104 Cell: 626 6448003 Email: marty_maya@me.com
April 2011
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with pleasure that I write this letter of recommendation for Ms. Patricia Diaz. I have
worked with Ms. Diaz in two capacities. I was the Assistant Superintendent of Education
Services in the Little Lake City School District while she served in the capacity of
Elementary School principal at Lakeview Elementary. In addition, we both worked as
independent educational consultants.
Ms. Diaz served as principal of Lakeview Elementary for a period of two years. She
developed the necessary expertise in educational administration, school instruction, and
educational operations to lead any districtwide instructional initiative. She is a person
with a set of diverse administrative management experiences.
She is knowledgeable in interpreting short and long-range student data, and is articulate
in educational procedures and policies giving her the ability to make critical decisions for
a variety of schools, staffs, and communities. Ms. Diaz is an excellent facilitator. She
worked effectively with staff, community and administrators. She has excellent
interpersonal skills and her manner makes her approachable and accessible to all. Her
positive nature can win over even the most difficult staffs and communities. Ms. Diaz
maintained a high level of dedication, loyalty and enthusiasm for students’ academic
achievement.
Ms. Diaz was trained in Bill Cook’s Strategic Planning Process. She led her school in
building their site level strategic plans. In addition, Ms. Diaz served on several District
wide Action Plan Teams to design, create, and recommend implementation of District
Strategies.
Additionally, Ms. Diaz was trained in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). She
led her school community to understand the three major premises behind PLCs:
What do you want students to learn?
How will you know that the students have learned what you asked them to learn?
What do you do for those students who did not learn it and what do you do for those
students who did learn it?
Taking into account, Ms. Diaz’s expertise in leading district and school wide efforts, her
knowledge and training in the Strategic Planning Process and in PLC’s, Ms. Diaz was
instrumental in bringing about some major reform efforts in the Little Lake City School
District. A snapshot of her site level reform work include the following:
• Implemented Comprehensive Early Literacy Learning (CELL) Strategies

2. (Kindergarten-Grade 3) that emphasized that the instructional focus in the primary grades
is to teach reading and writing.
• Implemented Extended Literacy Learning (ExLL) (Grades 3-5) strategies. ExLL
focused on reading and writing in the content areas while recognizing that some students
in the upper elementary grades may still be struggling readers.
• Worked with teacher and district teams to implement the Response to Intervention
(RTI) approach/process at her site. RtI is structured to provide researched based
instruction and leveled intervention for students. This process ensured the monitoring and
measuring of student progress in response to the instruction and interventions.
• Aligned grade level curriculum using the Curriculum Alignment Process.
Teachers designed grade level instructional matrices.
• Implemented grade-level Common Assessments that were aligned to State Standards
and to Grade Level Blueprints.
• Facilitated monthly Grade Level Data Reflection Sessions with her teachers whereby
she measured student growth through grade level aligned assessments.
As an independent consultant, Ms. Diaz took her experience as a successful instructional
leader and assisted several schools in need. She is talented in the role as a professional
development lead. Ms. Diaz mentored principals, coached teachers and has made it a
priority to develop and support those with whom she has worked. She facilitated teacher
groups and site administrators through the following processes:
• Facilitated curriculum alignment process
• Conducted English Language Arts Workshops/Inservices
• Created Common Unit Assessments
• Trained Administrators to facilitated their sites’ Data Reflection Sessions with teachers.
Ms. Diaz has all of the skills and expertise necessary to provide administrative support
and to serve as an instructional leader. Ms. Diaz is bilingual and can serve the needs of a
community in need of a bilingual professional. She has my highest level of
recommendation.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Martha C. Maya
Retired, Assistant Superintendent, Little Lake City School District