Dear West Springfield Public Schools,
I was excited to see that West Springfield Middle School has an opening for a media literacy teacher in the coming year. A middle school media studies position would be a perfect match for my skills and experience: as a webmaster, English teacher, programmer, and published writer, I am prepared to help students navigate our complex media ecosystem.
During my time as an instructor at UMass Amherst, I had the opportunity to teach an incredibly diverse group of Freshmen straight out of high school, the majority of whom were international and ESL students that lacked essential media literacy. Students enjoyed my ability to bring technology and current media into the classroom, and I crafted a curriculum that helped them own their transition by preparing them to meet a world effectively run by media. I’ve spent the past year as an Educational Support Professional at Hadley Elementary School, where I’ve gained experience with virtually every subject and classroom in the building, especially as I’ve been working one-on-one with students that need additional support and intervention, including ELL students.
My teaching style is all about creating exciting classroom discussions where students are eager to exchange views and bounce new ideas off each other, which is perfect for this material. My aim is to get students to a place where they come to class looking forward to learning from each other as much as from me, and see themselves as taking part in driving the class. I want to encourage student creativity and agency, especially through presentations that ask students to find new ways to express themselves clearly and effectively.
As a published writer who has had to adapt over the course of decades to a constantly shifting media landscape, I feel qualified not only to provide media literacy instruction but to give students perspective on what it means to enrich their lives through careful analysis of the media around them. I would love the opportunity to develop as a teacher with West Springfield Public Schools, and my current role as an ESP means that I am ready to make a quick and effective transition to a new environment with new students and expectations. I look forward to hearing from you and discussing how we can work together to meet the district’s goals.
Sincerely,
Brett Belcastro
Hadley Elementary School
(413) 219-9060
brettbel@protonmail.com