College of Health and
Human Services
Department of Human
Development and Family Studies
Pettee Hall, Room 218
55 College Road
May 1, 2020 Durham, NH 03824-3599
V: 603.862.2146
F: 603.862.3271
TTY: 7.7.7 (Relay NH)
To Whom it May Concern, www.chhs.unh.edu/hdfs
It is with great pleasure that I share this recommendation for Ms. Kyleigh Rousseau who is applying for a teaching
position in your school. I first met Kyleigh in August of 2010 when she began working as a teaching assistant at the
University of New Hampshire’s Child Study and Development Center (CSDC) where I was the Facilitating Teacher in
the Kindergarten program. Kyleigh began her journey as an early childhood educator as a student in the Human
Development and Family Studies department at UNH and as such she was afforded multiple opportunities for high
quality pre-service experiences. She dedicated herself not only to these practicum experiences but also to working in
classrooms across the Center during her undergraduate work, thus gaining a plethora of hands-on knowledge and
training. Throughout her time at CSDC Kyleigh demonstrated an unwavering commitment to developing into a highly
skilled teacher of young children and embraced every opportunity to learn and grow as a young professional. As can be
seen from her resume she has continued her incredible drive for excellence both in her own professional development as
well as in her dedication to the field of early childhood education.
Kyleigh is a natural within the classroom. Her passion for teaching and creating meaningful, authentic and
developmentally appropriate experiences for young learners is evident in all that she does. She is not only well-versed in
child development theory, but she is also a master of infusing this into her teaching practice and honoring the way in
which our youngest students learn best. Kyleigh demonstrated this skill repeatedly in the time that I had the privilege of
being her mentor as well as when she had further student teaching experiences in public school settings. She
understands the curricula and assessment expectations of these settings yet worked diligently to find ways to infuse best
practices (play-based, hands-on, interactive learning) for young learners. She puts relationships (with children, families
and colleagues) at the center of her teaching practice, always fostering a strong sense of community which is pivotal to
creating successful learning environments. Furthermore, Kyleigh became a strong advocate for the importance of
supporting the consistent use of such practices within the schools she worked. It was through such opportunities that
Kyleigh’s thoughtful leadership qualities began to become increasingly evident.
As Kyleigh began her graduate work she took on a supervisory role within the University’s Seacoast Read’s program
through which college volunteers were placed in schools across the region to serve as tutors in supporting children’s
literacy development. Her strong communication and organizational skills coupled with her passion for this area
resulted in highly successful experiences for both the college students and the children they supported. Kyleigh is an
effective leader because she is an active listener, true collaborator and is highly respectful of varying perspectives. She
sees and embraces these as possibilities for collective growth and positive change. Her enthusiasm for creating the best
learning environments for young children is simply infectious and motivating to those around her. Kyleigh took these
skills internationally as she traveled to Thailand to serve as both a preschool teacher and Early Childhood Head of
Department in an international school in Bangkok. For the past four years she has continued to advocate for young
children and share her passion and commitment to early childhood best practices leading her colleagues in this journey.
Kyleigh is an outstanding educator who has truly only just begun to put her mark of excellence on the field of early
childhood education. Her energy, knowledge and genuine love for teaching would truly make her an incredible asset to
your school community.
Please feel free to contact me if I can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
University of New Hampshire, Preschool Development Grant
Lead Instructional Coach
