Policies and Procedures for Student Teaching and Internships

Introduction

Please be professional; your application is sometimes shown to teachers, principals and others involved in placing you. Applications cannot be accepted after the deadlines stated in the Important Dates notice on the bulletin board outside the Office of Field Experience, 220 Morris Hall. For further details and other pertinent information, please see the Fieldwork Handbook.

Please read all pages of the packet before making your response. Make two copies of the page titled "Application to Student Teach." Return the copies, the criminal background check receipt, the Questionnaire sheet and the Credit Check form to the Application Day session.

Checklist for Student Teacher/Intern Applicants

All of the following items are required. Physical Education majors must also complete a placement preference form. Please see Mrs. Lori Petersen for more information. Word Doc versions of these forms are available in the Forms section.

Student Teaching Application - This form will be available in January. Please plan to attend the Information Session on February 1st prior to filling out this form. Two copies are required.

Additional Application EC / SPE - These forms will be available in January. Please plan to attend the Information Session on February 1st prior to filling them out. Two copies are required. These forms are for Early Childhood minors preparing to complete their Pre-K/K fieldwork and for Special Education minors preparing for their SPE fieldwork.

Credit Check Form – Our office gives this form to the Assistant to the Dean to verify that you meet program and degree requirements to student teach (and fulfill licensure requirements). You MUST record all majors and minors you want to certify. Computing GPA (grade point average), especially if you have a significant amount of transfer credits, can be complicated (see below for quick computing directions). However, if you do not compute a GPA as requested, please do not be surprised when you are notified at the end of the semester that you are not eligible to student teach (or complete a practicum or internship) because one or more or your GPAs does not meet program requirements. 

You do not need to order an updated SNAP, but a SNAP would help you compute the GPAs requested. To compute a GPA, multiply the grade point (A=4, A/B=3.5, B=3, B/C= 2.5, C=2, D= 1) times the credit hours assigned to a course, add the results of all courses and divide the sum by the total number of credits in those courses. Remember, "Cumulative GPA" combines coursework at UW-L with transfer credits. 

Questionnaire - For admission to student teaching/intern or practicum programs

Criminal Background Check (CBC) - In order to student teach or intern, all students must pass a criminal background check. A $25 to $30 fee (more for EC) will be assessed to cover the expense of the background check. Paperclip your receipt (or a copy of it) to your Student Teaching Application packet.

Wisconsin Law Sheet - Read the law, fill in the information on the bottom of the sheet and sign. Understanding and agreeing to the law is required for student teaching and interning.

Resume - REQUIRED ONLY for students interested in Milwaukee, WI, Public Schools, hardship requests and SHE majors (who might expect to be placed out of our local area).

Consent for Release of Information - required for students planning an out-of-area placement

Immunization Documents - A negative TB test result and a Hepatitis B immunization record must be turned into the Office of Student Teaching and Internships prior to Orientation. If we do not have these records on file, you are not allowed to be in the school and will be required to leave until the records are on file. 

  • TB Test - Before student teaching/internships begin, you must test negative for TB within 90 days of the student teaching/intern start date. We recommend you have the test during the month before you student teach. Turn in the results by the first Friday of January for spring placements or by the first Friday of August for fall placements. 
  • Hepatitis B - Before student teaching/internships begin, your Hepatitis B immunization series (three shots) must be completed or at least started. Hepatitis B immunizations are permanent, and we accept copies of signed, official immunization records. Otherwise, the Student Health Center and the County Health Department administer the shots (~$25 each). Evidence of immunity blood draws are also accepted. Turn in your record by the first Friday of January for spring placements or by the first Friday of August for fall placements.

$100 Registration Deposit - This must be paid by April 13 (Fall) or October 13 (Spring) before our office will register you for student teaching or intern credits. If you cannot meet this deadline, please contact the Director at (608) 785-8127. 

Intern-Specific Application Checklist

Interns apply in February for the following academic year. A second application chance for Spring is only in September.

Intern Application - This form will be available in January. Two copies are required. 

Resume - Two copies are required. 

Letters of Recommendation - Three are required.

Plus all items listed above under "Checklist for Student Teacher/Intern Applicants"

Minumum Standards for Admission to Student Teaching

The student teaching experience is completed during a person's final semester at UW-La Crosse.

A student teaching applicant must:

  1. Have and maintain a 2.75 cumulative GPA, as well as in each of the major(s), minor(s), concentrations and/or professional core of courses.
  2. Meet prerequisites for whichever applies to you: C-1 400, 401, 403, 404, and/or 409.
  3. Declare the major(s), minor(s), and/or concentrations for which she or he is seeking licenses at the time of application.

Important Notes

Do not contact a school administrator or cooperating teacher to arrange a placement. Only the Director of Student Teaching and Internships and the cooperating school administration arrange placements. Your placement is confirmed either by letter to you or when you are notified at Orientation.

Placement sites (schools) fall within a 50-mile radius of La Crosse . Student teachers should not automatically expect to be assigned to a requested school or system.

After you receive notification of your placement, immediately contact your cooperating teacher to discuss district policies, procedures and philosophy. For most student teachers, the starting date of your assignment will be the first day teachers are required to be in the school for the semester. Your last day is the last day your cooperating teacher is expected to be in the school for the semester. Think of yourself as an employee and follow the school's schedule. You do not follow the University’s semester schedule.

"Student teachers/interns may be employed as assistants in extracurricular activities; however, the student teaching experience is the top priority for the semester and any other commitment is secondary. Any involvement in extracurricular activities must be approved by the University Supervisor and the Director of Student Teaching and Internships prior to accepting that responsibility." (The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Teacher Education Program Fieldwork Handbook, p.6.4).

Employment of any type during student teaching or interning is strongly discouraged and should not be scheduled.

Workload of a Student Teacher/Intern

Wisconsin State regulations require that the student teaching/intern assignment extend the length of the local school district calendar semester. Fall semester assignments start in late August or early September and usually end in mid-January. Spring semester assignments typically begin later in January and conclude in early June. Student teachers and interns will observe the daily and holiday schedules of the school district, not those of the University.

TB Test and Hepatits B Immunization

Before you can student teach or intern, you must have official records filed in the Office of Student Teaching and Internships (220 Morris Hall) showing proof that you have taken a tuberculosis test (and are free of TB) and that you have completed or started the Hepatitis B immunization. You may attend to these procedures at the UW-L Health Center at (608) 785-8558, at the La Crosse County Health Department or with your family physician.

Within 90 days prior to student teaching/interning, you must have completed a two-part TB test. You must go on two separate days, several days apart. This test is usually free.

The Hepatitis B immunization is given as a series of three injections over a 16- to 24-week period. At the Health Center , each injection is about $25. The cost is about the same at the County Health Department. A physician usually charges more. An official record of your having taken or having started this series is due in the Office of Student Teaching and Internships prior to your Orientation; otherwise, you will not be able to student teach or intern.

Turn in your medical records by the first Friday of January for spring placements or by the first Friday of August for fall placements.

Required Meetings

Orientation: This all-day meeting is held just before the beginning of your student teaching or intern experience. School procedures and policies are covered, as is information on placement, liability, illness, work stoppage, certification, licensing and so forth.

Seminars: Six late afternoon seminars are designed to support you during student teaching.

Teacher Employment Seminar: Come to campus to help secure your place in the ranks of paid teachers! Learn about licensure application procedures. Attend if you will graduate this semester.

Program Evaluation: Near the end of student teaching, return to campus to tell us what to do better and to help us keep in touch with you in the future! Attend if you will graduate this semester.

Alternative Placements

Please contact the Office of Field Experiences for more information on Alternative Placements.

Internships

A Teaching Internship is a licensed, full-semester assignment in a school. The Wisconsin Improvement Program, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the school system itself sponsor interns. The school district pays each intern a stipend ($4500 for 2006-07). Internships are often located in schools well away from La Crosse and interns may be required to relocate. Students in good standing who have a cumulative overall GPA of 3.0 are eligible to apply (although internships for some students working in Pre-K and Early Childhood are difficult to approve). Applications are due in February for the next academic year. Spring candidates can also apply in September, but early application is strongly recommended. Acceptance into the internship pool is based on:

  1. Evidence of teaching potential; 
  2. Scholastic record; 
  3. Recommendations of professors and; 
  4. Interview with Director of Student Teaching and Internships.

Once accepted into the intern pool, candidates must apply for internships directly with school districts. The number and types of internships available will vary by semester. Both the school district and the intern candidate must reach an agreement. Neither the school districts nor the intern candidates are under any obligation to fill a particular internship. Once an internship position is proffered and accepted, a written agreement is highly recommended. The intern must obtain a password from the Office in 220 Morris Hall in order to apply for an intern license online. Internships can be terminated for non-performance.

Milwaukee Student Teaching

UW-L student teachers are offered the possibility of teaching in urban, culturally diverse settings with the Milwaukee, WI Public Schools. Candidates must apply and be screened and interviewed. Acceptance is also based on scholastic record, evidence of teaching potential and professional commitment. Interested students should attend the informational meeting held each semester.

Placements for Health and Physical Education Students

A few out-of-La Crosse-area student teaching sites may be available to Health and Physical Education student teachers. The Director of the Office of Field Experience works with UW-L faculty in these areas to place student teachers. Your requests for these sites should be noted on the application.

For any of these policies, procedures and their outcomes, an Appeals Board is available through an Assistant to the Dean in the School of Education or the College of Science and Health.