Field Experiences

Early Practicums occur throughout a Teacher-Candidate’s program and are focused on specific topics.  Early Practicums are face-to-face experiences and require an approved clearance by the school district separate from the WSU COVID-19 clearances.  Early Practicums have two parts to their experience: a) a field experience; and, b) a seminar.   The purpose is to expose and explore content, pedagogy, instruction, assessment, and educational issues in the field and process the experience through various activities during the seminar class.

• T&L 401 – Bilingual/English Language Learners (6 hrs/wk, 90 hrs total)
• T&L 402 – Instructional Strategies, Literacy, Technology, and Assessment (3 hrs/wk, 45 hrs total).
  • Alternate Route Packet
• T&L 405 – Math and Science (3 hrs/wk, 45 hrs total)
  • Alternate Route Packet
• T&L 590 – MIT content experience (6 hrs/wk, 90 hrs total)
• SPEC_ED 490 – Special Education (6 hrs/wk, 90 hrs total)

Early Practicum Handbooks

• Teacher Candidate Handbook
• Mentor Teacher Handbook

Orientation Information

• Orientation Presentation

Practicum Activities

• Weekly Calendar Coordination: Using the log sheet form, Teacher Candidates are expected to review and have their calendar approved by their Mentor Teacher a minimum of a week in advance. The Mentor Teacher should initial approved absences or alterations to the regular weekly schedule. The Field Supervisor must be informed of any scheduled absences or changes by the Teacher Candidate. Log sheets must be always current and are subject to review upon demand by the Mentor Teacher or Field Supervisor.
•  Teacher Candidate Observations
  • Teacher Candidates will observe many different aspects of the classroom during their early practicum.  The Mentor Teacher is a primary source of modeling, however, there may be times the mentor arranges observations of peers, intervention specialists, or specialists. Notes should be taken and discussed between the Teacher Candidate and the Mentor Teacher allowing for reflection and processing by the Teacher Candidate.
  • Reflections of these observations should be evident in the Teacher Candidates Early Practicum Performance Criteria Journal (EPPCJ).
• Mentor Teacher Observations
  • Mentor Teachers will provide rich and frequent feedback to the Teacher Candidate through out the practicum.  A majority of the feedback will be verbal.  A minimum of two (2) written observations will be provided the Teacher Candidate by the Mentor Teacher.
• Field Supervisor Observations
  • Field Supervisors will provide actionable feedback to the Teacher Candidate during the practicum. The Field Supervisor will provide feedback verbally and a minimum of one (1) written observation to the Teacher Candidate.
• Seminar Activities and Assignments
  • Refer to the associated seminar syllabus or handbook for details about activities and assignments due during the practicum.
  • Some activities and assignments require integration with the field experience and time should be allotted for the Teacher Candidate to complete them.
• Mid-term Evaluation: Early Practicum Performance Criteria Journal (EPPCJ) [Video Tutorial] – The Teacher Candidate will complete the narrative for sections 1-6 during the semester.
  • One week before the mid-term evaluation meeting, the Teacher Candidate will provide the completed EPPCJ form and the log sheet to their Mentor Teacher and Field Supervisor for review.
  • At the mid-term evaluation meeting, the Mentor Teacher and Field Supervisor will review the evaluation with the Teacher Candidate.
  • All parties will sign the document acknowledging they were present at the meeting.
  • The Teacher Candidate will collect the forms, convert them to PDFs, and submit them to the Field Supervisor for approval in a single email.
  • Field Supervisor emails completed mid-term to tricities.fieldservices@wsu.edu
• Final Packet: Checklists – The Teacher Candidate will complete the narrative for sections 1 through 6 during the semester.  One week before the final evaluation meeting, the Teacher Candidate will send the updated EPPCJ to the Mentor Teacher and Field Supervisor for review.
  • Log Sheet (View Tutorial)
  • Exit Survey (will be sent to you via WSU email from Pullman)
  • 1 University Field Supervisor Observation (Field Supervisor)
  • 2 Mentor Teacher Observations (Mentor-Teacher)
  • Final Evaluation: Early Practicum Performance Criteria Journal (EPPCJ) Final [See Video Tutorial]

Pre-Internships or Advanced Practicums are face-to-face experiences and require an approved clearance by the school district separate from the WSU COVID-19 clearances.

Courses

Program Handbooks

• Elementary 490 Handbook
• Secondary Pre-Internternship 469 Handbook

Pullman Prepared Students

Students going through the Pullman programs are placed in their practicums for the first five to six weeks of each semester on a full-time basis instead of fewer hours each week for the full semester.  This allows for a more affordable experience for students living in Pullman and traveling or remotely living during their practicum.

Alternate Route Program

Alternate Route (AR) Program teacher candidates follow a condensed schedule arranged between the school district and WSU Tri-Cities to accommodate work schedules and logistical issues of the para-educators.  AR term is usually eight (8) weeks in length rather than the traditional 16 weeks.  All activities mentioned below are the same, they just happen faster and are completed sooner.

Orientation Information

Orientation Presentation

Practicum Activities

This is a summary sketch, Teacher Candidates please refer to your specific syllabus or handbook (T&L490, MIT 571, T&L 469, T&L 590).

• Weekly Calendar Coordination: Using the log sheet form, Teacher Candidates are expected to review and have their calendar approved by their Mentor Teacher a minimum of a week in advance. The Mentor Teacher should initial approved absences or alterations to the regular weekly schedule. The Field Supervisor must be informed of any scheduled absences or changes by the Teacher Candidate. Log sheets must be always current and are subject to review upon demand by the Mentor Teacher or Field Supervisor.
• Seminar Activities and Assignments
  • Refer to the associated seminar syllabus or handbook for details about activities and assignments due during the practicum.
  • Some activities and assignments require integration with the field experience and time should be allotted for the Teacher Candidate to complete them.
• Ongoing Documentation: Look at the “Final Packet” list below.  You will use these documents to record your activities, diverse populations of students that you work with, and progress in the practicum.  Schedule time each week to complete this documentation.
• Teaching Activities: Teacher Candidates are expected to design and teach a minimum of four lessons approved by their Mentor Teacher and Field Supervisor. Teacher Candidates are expected to use the College of Education Template. Teacher Candidates must submit their lesson plan and other required documents a minimum of 24 hours in advance of the lesson.
• Observations
  • A minimum of four observations from your Field Supervisor.  A minimum of two will be written feedback. The Teacher Candidate may receive more than two but only select two for their final packet.
  • Four observations from your Mentor-Teacher.  A minimum of two will be written feedback. The Teacher candidate may receive more than two but only select two for their final packet.
• PDEFE Mid-Term Evaluation:  Teacher Candidates should remind their Mentor-Teacher and Field Supervisor one week before mid-term about your evaluation. Schedule a conference time to go over it before the mid-term due date.
• Mid-Term Packet: The Teacher Candidate is responsible for compiling and submitting the mid-term packet to their Field Supervisor after their mid-term evaluation meeting. The following documents must be attached to a single email to their Field Supervisor.
  • Log Sheet (View Tutorial)
  • Mid-Term PDEFE
• PDEFE Final Evaluation: Teacher Candidates should remind their Mentor-Teacher and Field Supervisor two weeks before the end of their practicum and schedule a conference time to go over the final evaluation.
• Final Packet: Checklists – The Teacher Candidate is responsible for compiling and submitting the final packet to their Field Supervisor after their final evaluation meeting. All of the following documents must be attached to a single email to their Field Supervisor.
  • Log Sheet (View Tutorial)
  • Exit Survey (will be sent to you via WSU email from Pullman)
  • 2 University Field Supervisor Observations (provided by the Supervisor)
  • 2 Mentor Teacher Observations (provided by the Mentor-Teacher)
  • PDEFE Final Evaluation (provided by Supervisor and Mentor-Teacher)

Student Teaching Internships are capstone courses for the teacher preparation program.

Program Handbooks & Resources

• Student Teaching Handbook (T&L 415)
• Internship Handbook (MIT 575)
• WSU Student Teaching Web Resources

Alternate Route Program

Alternate Route (AR) Program teacher candidates follow a condensed schedule arranged between the school district and WSU Tri-Cities to accommodate the para-educators work schedules and logistical issues.  AR term is usually eight (8) weeks in length rather than the traditional 16 weeks.  All activities mentioned below are the same, they just happen faster and are completed sooner.

Orientation Information

Student Teaching Orientation Presentation

Term

• 600 hours (7.5 hrs/day x 5 days/wk x 16 wks
• Begins when the contracted teacher beings and may include time before the WSU semester begins.
• Ends the Friday of finals week every semester.

Practicum Activities

This is a summary sketch, please refer to your specific syllabus or handbook (T&L 415, MIT 575).

• Weekly Calendar Coordination: Using the log sheet form, Teacher Candidates are expected to review and have their calendar approved by their Mentor Teacher a minimum of a week in advance. The Mentor Teacher should initial approved absences or alterations to the regular weekly schedule. The Field Supervisor must be informed of any scheduled absences or changes by the Teacher Candidate. Log sheets must be always current and are subject to review upon demand by the Mentor Teacher or Field Supervisor.
• Seminar Activities and Assignment
  • Refer to the associated seminar syllabus or handbook for details about activities and assignments due during the practicum.
  • Some activities and assignments require integration with the field experience and time should be allotted for the Teacher Candidate to complete them.
• Teaching Activities: Teacher candidates are expected to design and teach lessons approved by their Mentor-Teacher and Field Supervisor. Teacher Candidates are expected to use the College of Education Template. Additional requirements may be expected through the seminar assignments and activities. The Teacher Candidate must submit their lesson plans to the Mentor Teacher and Field Supervisor a minimum of 24 hours before the lesson activity.
  • The Teacher Candidate is expected to become semi-autonomous within the first five weeks in designing and delivery lessons for much of the day. From approximately the sixth week, Teacher candidates should plan, teach, and operate the classroom full-day.
• Mentor Teacher Observations
  • As the role of the Mentor Teacher shifts from modeling to coaching, feedback will increase and become more frequent.  A majority of the feedback will be verbal, however there must be a minimum of four (4) written feedback observations by the Mentor Teacher.
  • Mentor Teachers may use their own method of notetaking and are able to use provided forms as well.
  • Several observations should be broad and encompass the whole classroom while following observations can be focused on particular aspects of the classroom.
• Field Supervisor Observations
  • Field Supervisors document twelve (12) hours of contact time with Teacher Candidates. Some of this time is meeting, reflecting, emails, Zoom, and direct observations. A minimum of four (4) written feedback observations will occur during the semester term.
• PDEFE Mid-Term Evaluation:  Teacher Candidates should reminder their Mentor Teacher and Field Supervisor one week before mid-term about your evaluation. Schedule a conference time to go over it before the mid-term due date.
• Mid-Term Packet: The Teacher Candidate is responsible for compiling and submitting the mid-term packet to their Field Supervisor after their mid-term evaluation meeting. The following documents must be attached to a single email to their Field Supervisor.
  • Log Sheet (View Tutorial)
  • Mid-Term PDEFE
• PDEFE Final Evaluation: Teacher Candidates should remind their Mentor-Teacher and Field Supervisor two weeks before the end of your practicum and schedule a conference time to go over the final evaluation.
• Final Packet: Checklists – The Teacher Candidate is responsible for compiling and submitting the final packet to their Field Supervisor after their final evaluation meeting. All the following documents must be attached to a single email to their Field Supervisor.  Follow the “Checklist” directions.  Incomplete or late submission of paperwork can result in delayed certification or impact graduation.
  • Practicum Log Sheet (View Tutorial)
  • Exit Survey (will be sent to you via WSU email from Pullman)
  • 12-hour documentation (provided by Field Supervisor)
  • 2 Written Mentor-Teacher Observations (provided by Mentor-Teacher)
  • 2 Written Field Supervisor Observations (provided by Supervisor)
  • Diversity Documentation Form
  • Professional Growth Plan (PGP)
  • Final Evaluation: PDEFE Final (provided by Field Supervisor and Mentor-Teacher)

Final Packet Submission and Deadlines

To receive credit for any practicum or internship, all WSU Teacher-Candidates are expected to submit a final packet via email.  View the specific contents of the final pack in the descriptions above.

• Early Practicum Final Packet Instructions
• Pre-internship/Advanced Practicum Final Packet Instructions
• Student Teaching Internship Final Packet Instructions

The students you work within the K-12 system are protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).  You must adhere to FERPA in all aspects of your practicum experiences.

April 21, 2021

Updated code of conduct for Washington educators

Licensed professions often have a code of conduct that all practitioners in their field are expected to follow. The educator profession is no exception. In Washington, the Professional Educator Standards Board (PESB), composed primarily of practicing educators, sets standards and establishes a code of conduct for teachers, administrators, and educational staff associates (ESAs). The educator code of conduct safeguards our students, strengthens the culture of our schools, and increases public confidence in the integrity of our education system. It also clarifies what is expected of educators and how they will be held accountable.

Educator discipline is administered at two levels. Employment discipline is handled at the local level, and certificate discipline is handled at the state level. The OSPI Office of Professional Practice (OPP) is responsible for investigating individual educators for possible violations of the professional code of conduct at the state level.

Code of conduct

In 2020, a stakeholder workgroup met to review the educator discipline system in Washington. At the March 2021 board meeting, PESB approved updates to the code of conduct and educator discipline system related to workgroup recommendations.

Additions to the code of conduct:

• Provisions on social media and digital communications (WAC 181-87-062)
• New definition of sexual grooming is now included in sexual misconduct (WAC 181-87-080)

Discipline system

The Board added a new type of OPP action: the letter of concern. A letter of concern is a low-level intervention that is preventive and informative in nature. It is also non-disciplinary, meaning that no action is taken on the educator’s certificate. A letter of concern is not issued for serious types of misconduct.

The Board also approved guidelines for the composition of a disciplinary appeals committee to better reflect the diversity of the students in our state.

Find out more

• Slidedeck for educators and education leaders
• Updated code of conduct
• Types of discipline and discipline-related actions
• Contact the OSPI Office of Professional Practice at 360-725-6130 or OPP@k12.wa.us for information on the process, investigations, and more.

You must adhere to the Code of Conduct standards in all aspects of your practicum experiences.

Content Exam

Washington State requires that all prospective teachers show proficiency in their respective content areas.  View the college resource page for details.

School District COVID-19 Clearance

Teacher-Candidates are responsible to follow and complete the school district’s clearance processes.

Pre-residency Clearance

All Teacher-Candidates must complete a background check by completing fingerprinting and purchasing liability insurance.  See WSU’s Field Page for more information.

Fingerprint Clearance

We recommend the completion of fingerprinting through your regional Educational Service District (ESD) rather than the sheriff’s office or other option because of their direct access to OSPI approval.  Using an ESD for fingerprinting significantly reduces the amount of processing time. View the college resource page for details.

• ESD 123, 3924 West Court Street, Pasco, WA 99301
  509-547-8441
  http://www.esd123.org
• ESD 171, 430 Old Station Road, Wenatchee, WA 98801
  509-665-2610
  http://www.ncesd.org
• ESD 105, 33 S. 2nd Ave., Yakima, WA 98902-3486
  509-454-3102
  http://www.esd105.org

Liability Insurance

Liability Insurance is required of all Teacher-Candidates (WSU Students). Renewal deadlines and completion are the teacher candidate’s responsibility.  Insurance expiration without renewal will cause your practicum to halt.  View the college resource page for details.

Visit the “Practicum Clearances” tab to access the direct link to policy information. To help ensure that there is no gap in your insurance during your practicum, pay attention to WHEN you purchase the policy. Online purchase only allows for either January through December or July through June. You can also take a printed form to the cashier’s office to get a 365-day policy.

We encourage you to plan your insurance to cover both the Advanced Practicum and Student Teaching. You may need to wait to purchase fall to spring coverage until late summer. If purchased too early or too late, you may be stuck paying for two years of coverage. Please read the policy coverage details carefully and plan accordingly.

Finally, once you purchase your liability insurance, please send a copy of the receipt or confirmation email to tricities.fieldservices@wsu.edu.

Please send your insurance payment receipt to tricities.fieldservices@wsu.edu.

The Intern Substitute Certification is a limited teacher certificate that allows intern/student teachers to work and earn pay as a substitute while simultaneously doing their student teaching.

The demand for teachers has resulted in a shortage of substitute teachers. Washington State University (WSU) understands that the growing need for substitutes places school districts in a difficult position. However, student teaching is the most valuable pre-service experience and is designed to assure that prospective teachers enter the profession successfully. Therefore, WSU discourages the use of student teachers as substitutes.

Similarly, WSU discourages the use of cooperating teachers as substitutes in other classrooms. This practice limits the cooperating teacher’s availability to mentor pre-service students and, in effect, violates the school district’s contracted responsibility to provide a student teacher with a cooperating teacher on an ongoing basis.

WSU will use the following policy for (a) awarding an Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate, and (b) allowing substitute teaching by student teachers who possess an Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate:

Determination of readiness for an Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate, or for substitute teaching by student teachers who possess an Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate, will be made after formal observations by the university supervisor, and with input from the student teacher and the cooperating teacher.
The student-teacher must have progressed in their assignment to the point where they demonstrated the ability to effectively teach and learn from teaching solo, and no sooner than the mid-point of the student teaching experience.

The student-teacher shall notify, in writing, the student teaching supervisor of each substitute teaching assignment. The notification shall occur at the first meeting with the student teaching supervisor subsequent to the substitute teaching assignment.

In addition to the above policy, WSU encourages school districts to adhere to the following practices:

• Certificated personnel shall be legally responsible for the classroom(s) where the student-teacher is teaching as a substitute teacher.
• Teaching as a substitute should be limited to no more than three consecutive days and cannot exceed 10 days total.
• The student-teacher shall not be penalized in any way, including performance evaluations, for refusing to accept an assignment as a substitute teacher.
• The Intern Substitute Certificate is valid only during the student teaching field experience. Substitute service during the student teaching phase (1) must be in the cooperating teacher’s classroom, (2) must be approved by the university supervisor, (3) cannot exceed a total of 10 days, and (4) is limited to a maximum of three consecutive days per occurrence.

Issuance of this certificate is subject to the following conditions:

• District approval
• Completion of at least 50% of the field experience
• University supervisor and cooperating teacher approval
• Field Services Director Approval
• Application and payment of the $44.00 fee.

Substitute Request Form must be completed and submitted to john.mancinelli@wsu.edu by the Field Supervisor to complete the process.

Please Note: Some districts do not support the use of pre-service teachers as substitutes. Please check with your cooperating teacher or building administrator before applying.

• Job Search: District Processes
• Job Search: The Job Posting – How to align application
• Job Search: The Job Interview (coming soon!)

• Lesson Script – Generic
• College of Education Template

• Video Parent Consent Form (English)
• Video Parent Consent Form (Spanish)
• Video Parent Consent Form (Ukrainian)
• Video Parent Consent Form (Chinese)
• Learning Walk Observation Form

Welcome, and Thank You!

We are pleased you elected to work with a WSU Teacher-Candidate this semester!  Thanks to your guidance, encouragement, support, and critical feedback of Teach-Candidates WSU regularly graduates high-quality teachers that enter the profession each year.  Please bookmark and regularly rely on this webpage for guidance and resources to help mentor your Teacher-Candidate.

The mentor teacher is considered to be an outstanding educator who is willing to share students, classroom responsibilities, and professional expertise with a Teacher-Candidate. The mentor is responsible to help the teacher-candidate develop a sense of confidence and security and the skills necessary to successfully begin a teaching career.

What are the various practicums I might supervise?

• The Early Practicums are a topical field experience a Teacher Candidate has when entering the Teaching and Learning program.  These teacher candidates just entered the program with very few or no pedagogy or content courses under their belt.  These practicums acquaint Teacher Candidates with the public school environment and more specifically with content-specific (English Language Learners, Bilingual Learner Education, math, literacy, science, Special Education, etc.) curriculum applicable to the classroom.  The focus and emphasis for these experiences are content standards, design, instruction, and assessment.
• Advanced Practicums are the penultimate course to Student Teaching and are designed to prepare the Teacher Candidate for Student Teaching.  Teacher candidates gain increased time in the field with increased responsibilities to deliver written lesson plans and deliver four lessons.
• Student Teaching is the final and culminating practicum where the Teacher Candidate shadows an experienced Mentor Teacher full-time. The edTPA application and submission occur during this time with the support of the Mentor Teacher.  Generally, the goal is for the Teacher Candidate to operate the assigned classroom full-time approximately two-thirds of the way through the practicum.

What should I provide feedback to the Teacher-Candidate and how should I provide it?

• Model Professionalism.
• Be Encouraging.
• Be accurate, clear, and honest.
• Be timely.

When and how do I evaluate the Teacher-Candidate?

• Observations: Each type of practicum requires a minimum number of written feedback from observations.  Documents used for observation notes can be found in the “Observation Tools” section on this website tab.
• Mid-term Evaluation.  Depending on the practicum, the Early Practicum Review or the PDEFE form is completed by the Field Supervisor and sent to the Mentor-Teacher for their additions and comments mid-way through the semester.  The Field Supervisor and Mentor-Teacher meet with the Teacher-Candidate to share their evaluation.  All three parties sign the “mid-term” section.  The Field Supervisor then submits the mid-term evaluation form to the WSU Tri-Cities Field Services Office.
• Final Evaluation. Depending on the practicum, the Early Practicum Review or the PDEFE form is completed by the Field Supervisor and sent to the Mentor-Teacher for their additions and comments in the last two weeks of the semester.  The Field Supervisor and Mentor-Teacher meet with the Teacher-Candidate to share their evaluation.  All three parties sign the “final” section.  The Field Supervisor provides the document to the Teacher-Candidate to submit in their “Final Packet” of required paperwork.

Orientation PowerPoint and Video

You are familiar with how FERPA applies to your students in K-12.  These same statutes also apply to university students.  Because Teacher Candidates are over 18, their academic information (including practicum progress) is protected and only available to the student.  Any other persons requesting information must be directed to the Field Services Director (john.mancinelli@wsu.edu).   DO NOT SHARE ANY INFORMATION WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN your principal/supervisor, the field supervisor, the teacher candidate, or the Field Services Director.

Verbal Conference with written follow-up.

The first step when a teacher candidate demonstrates concerns is a direct conversation with them.  Be explicit about the concern and provide a timeline in which the teacher candidate is expected to demonstrate improvement.  *NOTE* if the concern violates ethical, moral, or legal expectations notify the Field Services Director (john.mancinelli@wsu.edu) immediately.  Send a “summary of meeting” email as a follow-up to the meeting outlining what was discussed.  Keep this email for your records.

Teacher-candidate plan of improvement.

There are cases where a Teacher-Candidate significantly struggles or demonstrates deficits during their field experiences.  The Field Supervisor will work in conjunction with the mentor-teacher and Teacher-Candidate to develop a Plan of Improvement.  The Field Supervisor may use CoEd Student Improvement Plan to outline a clear track for improvement by the Teacher-Candidate.  The Plan of Improvement must be submitted to the Office of Field Services: Lindsay Lightner (llightner@wsu.edu) for all Alternate Route Teacher-Candidates and Dr. John Mancinelli (john.mancinelli@wsu.edu) for all other Teacher-Candidates.

Additional Consequences for At-Risk Teacher Candidate Behavior.

In the event the Teacher Candidate does not make adequate improvement or lack improvement, the Field Director will hold a meeting with the Mentor Teacher, Principal, and Field Supervisor to clarify issues and interview the team.  The Field Services Director will meet with the Teacher Candidate to discuss the issue.  Once interviews are complete, the Field Services Director will determine appropriate next steps including:

• Reassignment to another mentor teacher.
• Removal from practicum (“F” for semester grade) and must retake.
• A specialized intervention.

There are multiple ways to document and communicate observations to Teacher Candidates.  The following are some tools for your consideration:

• CoEd Student Teacher Observation T-Chart (Word(r) fillable form)
• CoEd Student Teacher Observation Worksheet
• CoEd Field T-Chart Feedback (handwritten form)

Holding rich conversations with your teacher candidate about various topics is valuable!  Here is a document that can give you some ideas about what to talk about.

• CoEd Field Service Topics for Discussion contains recommended topical conversations with your Teacher Candidate.

Use of Instructional Frameworks.

There are many instructional frameworks that can help in the feedback you provide about planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom management.  Washington State uses the Danielson, Marzano, and CEL5D+ frameworks for teacher evaluation based on the school districts’ negotiated agreement.

The Intern Substitute Certification is a limited teacher certificate that allows intern/student teachers to work and earn pay as a substitute while simultaneously doing their student teaching.

The demand for teachers has resulted in a shortage of substitute teachers. Washington State University (WSU) understands that the growing need for substitutes places school districts in a difficult position. However, student teaching is the most valuable pre-service experience and is designed to assure that prospective teachers enter the profession successfully. Therefore, WSU discourages the use of student teachers as substitutes.

Similarly, WSU discourages the use of cooperating teachers as substitutes in other classrooms. This practice limits the cooperating teacher’s availability to mentor pre-service students and, in effect, violates the school district’s contracted responsibility to provide a student teacher with a cooperating teacher on an ongoing basis.

WSU will use the following policy for (a) awarding an Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate, and (b) allowing substitute teaching by student teachers who possess an Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate:

Determination of readiness for an Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate, or for substitute teaching by student teachers who possess an Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate, will be made after formal observations by the university supervisor, and with input from the student teacher and the cooperating teacher.
The student-teacher must have progressed in their assignment to the point where they demonstrated the ability to effectively teach and learn from teaching solo, and no sooner than the mid-point of the student teaching experience.

The student-teacher shall notify, in writing, the student teaching supervisor of each substitute teaching assignment. The notification shall occur at the first meeting with the student teaching supervisor subsequent to the substitute teaching assignment.

In addition to the above policy, WSU encourages school districts to adhere to the following practices:

• Certificated personnel shall be legally responsible for the classroom(s) where the student-teacher is teaching as a substitute teacher.
• Teaching as a substitute should be limited to no more than three consecutive days and cannot exceed 10 days total.
• The student-teacher shall not be penalized in any way, including performance evaluations, for refusing to accept an assignment as a substitute teacher.
• The Intern Substitute Certificate is valid only during the student teaching field experience. Substitute service during the student teaching phase (1) must be in the cooperating teacher’s classroom, (2) must be approved by the university supervisor, (3) cannot exceed a total of 10 days, and (4) is limited to a maximum of three consecutive days per occurrence.

Issuance of this certificate is subject to the following conditions:

• District approval
• Completion of at least 50% of the field experience
• University supervisor and cooperating teacher approval
• Field Services Director Approval
• Application and payment of the $44.00 fee.

Substitute Request Form must be completed and submitted to john.mancinelli@wsu.edu by the Field Supervisor to complete the process.

Please Note: Some districts do not support the use of pre-service teachers as substitutes. Please check with your cooperating teacher or building administrator before applying.

Towards the conclusion of the semester, you may receive an email from the Office of Field Services requesting feedback.

Additionally, if you are a mentor to a Student Teacher (TCH_LRN 415 or MIT 575) you will receive an email with details on how to receive 20 clock hours. If you don’t see an email or need assistance, please contact Staci Bickelhaupt (sbickel@wsu.edu).

If you are a mentor to an Advanced Practicum (TCH_LRN 490, 569 or MIT 571) student, you will receive an email with details on how to receive 10 clock hours.  If you don’t see an email or need assistance, please contact Staci Bickelhaupt (sbickel@wsu.edu).

No other mentor types receive clock hours for supervision at this time.

Beginning Fall 2021, a new appointment process will begin.  Each Supervisor will receive an appointment letter based on their assignment. All required paperwork and clearances must be completed before payroll can be processed:

• I-9 verification (through the business office/payroll) – You will need forms of identification such as a passport, driver’s license, or other officially recognized identification.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume
• Sexual Misconduct background check
• Others as required by the WSU business office.

WSU Tri-Cities Human Resource page

WSU Tri-Cities Human Resource Contacts

WSU Tri-Cities Payroll

• Student Teaching Handbook and Resource Guide
• Field Supervisor Handbook

You are familiar with how FERPA applies to students in K-12.  These same statutes also apply to university students.  Because Teacher Candidates are over 18, their academic information (including practicum progress) is protected and only available to the student.  Any other persons requesting information must be directed to the Field Services Director (john.mancinelli@wsu.edu).   DO NOT SHARE ANY INFORMATION WITH ANYONE OTHER THAN the principal/supervisor, the mentor teacher, the teacher candidate, or the Field Services Director.

Verbal Conference with written follow-up.

The first step when a teacher candidate demonstrates concerns is a direct conversation with them.  Be explicit about the concern and provide a timeline in which the teacher candidate is expected to demonstrate improvement.  *NOTE* if the concern violates ethical, moral, or legal expectations notify the Field Services Director (john.mancinelli@wsu.edu) immediately.  Send a “summary of meeting” email as a follow-up to the meeting outlining what was discussed.  Keep this email for your records.

Teacher-candidate plan of improvement.

There are cases where a Teacher-Candidate significantly struggles or demonstrates deficits during their field experiences.  The Field Supervisor will work in conjunction with the mentor-teacher and Teacher-Candidate to develop a Plan of Improvement.  The Field Supervisor may use CoEd Student Improvement Plan to outline a clear track for improvement by the Teacher-Candidate.  The Plan of Improvement must be submitted to the Office of Field Services: Lindsay Lightner (llightner@wsu.edu) for all Alternate Route Teacher-Candidates and Dr. John Mancinelli (john.mancinelli@wsu.edu) for all other Teacher-Candidates.

Additional Consequences for At-Risk Teacher Candidate Behavior.

In the event the Teacher Candidate does not make adequate improvement or lack improvement, the Field Director will hold a meeting with the Mentor Teacher, Principal, and Field Supervisor to clarify issues and interview the team.  The Field Services Director will meet with the Teacher Candidate to discuss the issue.  Once interviews are complete, the Field Services Director will determine appropriate next steps including:

• Reassignment to another mentor teacher.
• Removal from practicum (“F” for semester grade) and must retake.
• A specialized intervention.

There are multiple ways to document and communicate observations to Teacher Candidates.  The following are some tools for your consideration:

• CoEd Student Teacher Observation T-Chart (Word(r) fillable form)
• CoEd Student Teacher Observation Worksheet
• CoEd Field T-Chart Feedback (handwritten form)

Topics for Discussion with Teacher Candidates

• CoEd Field Service Topics for Discussion contains recommended topical conversations with your Teacher Candidate.

Use of Instructional Frameworks.

There are many instructional frameworks that can help in the feedback you provide about planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom management.  Washington State uses the Danielson, Marzano, and CEL5D+ frameworks for teacher evaluation based on the school districts’ negotiated agreement.

The Intern Substitute Certification is a limited teacher certificate that allows intern/student teachers to work and earn pay as a substitute while simultaneously doing their student teaching.

The demand for teachers has resulted in a shortage of substitute teachers. Washington State University (WSU) understands that the growing need for substitutes places school districts in a difficult position. However, student teaching is the most valuable pre-service experience and is designed to assure that prospective teachers enter the profession successfully. Therefore, WSU discourages the use of student teachers as substitutes.

Similarly, WSU discourages the use of cooperating teachers as substitutes in other classrooms. This practice limits the cooperating teacher’s availability to mentor pre-service students and, in effect, violates the school district’s contracted responsibility to provide a student teacher with a cooperating teacher on an ongoing basis.

WSU will use the following policy for (a) awarding an Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate, and (b) allowing substitute teaching by student teachers who possess an Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate:

Determination of readiness for an Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate, or for substitute teaching by student teachers who possess an Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate, will be made after formal observations by the university supervisor, and with input from the student teacher and the cooperating teacher.
The student-teacher must have progressed in their assignment to the point where they demonstrated the ability to effectively teach and learn from teaching solo, and no sooner than the mid-point of the student teaching experience.

The student-teacher shall notify, in writing, the student teaching supervisor of each substitute teaching assignment. The notification shall occur at the first meeting with the student teaching supervisor subsequent to the substitute teaching assignment.

In addition to the above policy, WSU encourages school districts to adhere to the following practices:

• Certificated personnel shall be legally responsible for the classroom(s) where the student-teacher is teaching as a substitute teacher.
• Teaching as a substitute should be limited to no more than three consecutive days and cannot exceed 10 days total.
• The student-teacher shall not be penalized in any way, including performance evaluations, for refusing to accept an assignment as a substitute teacher.
• The Intern Substitute Certificate is valid only during the student teaching field experience. Substitute service during the student teaching phase (1) must be in the cooperating teacher’s classroom, (2) must be approved by the university supervisor, (3) cannot exceed a total of 10 days, and (4) is limited to a maximum of three consecutive days per occurrence.

Issuance of this certificate is subject to the following conditions:

• District approval
• Completion of at least 50% of the field experience
• University supervisor and cooperating teacher approval
• Field Services Director Approval
• Application and payment of the $44.00 fee.

Substitute Request Form must be completed and submitted to john.mancinelli@wsu.edu by the Field Supervisor to complete the process.

Please Note: Some districts do not support the use of pre-service teachers as substitutes. Please check with your cooperating teacher or building administrator before applying.

CASHMERE S.D. NO. 222
COLLEGE PLACE S.D. NO. 250
COLUMBIA S.D. NO. 400
DAYTON S.D. NO. 2
DIXIE S.D. NO. 101
EAST VALLEY S.D. NO. 90
EASTMONT S.D. NO. 200
ENTIAT S.D. NO. 127
EPHRATA S.D. NO. 165
FINLEY S.D. NO. 53
GRANDVIEW S.D. NO. 116-200
KENNEWICK S.D. NO. 17
KIONA-BENTON S.D. NO. 52
MABTON S.D. NO. 120
MOSES LAKE S.D. NO. 161
NACHES VALLEY S.D. NO. JT3
NORTH FRANKLIN S.D. NO. J51-162
OTHELLO S.D. NO. 147-163-55
PASCO S.D. NO. 1
POMEROY S.D. NO. 110
PROSSER S.D. NO. 116
QUINCY S.D. NO. 144-101
RICHLAND SD. NO. 400
RITZVILLE S.D. NO. 160-67
SELAH S.D. NO. 119
SUNNYSIDE S.D. NO. 201
TOPPENISH S.D. NO. 202
TOUCHET S.D. NO. 300
WALLA WALLA S.D. NO. 140
WENATCHEE S.D. NO. 246
WEST VALLEY S.D. NO. 208
YAKIMA S.D. NO. 7
ZILLAH S.D. NO. 205

College of Education, Partner Contract Coordinator:

Heidi Ritter, PROGRAM SPECIALIST FIELD SERVICES

Pullman Campus
Cleveland Hall 252 And 321
Pullman, WA  99164

509-335-0925
hritter@wsu.edu

The Intern Substitute Certification is a limited teacher certificate that allows intern/student teachers to work and earn pay as a substitute while simultaneously doing their student teaching.

The demand for teachers has resulted in a shortage of substitute teachers. Washington State University (WSU) understands that the growing need for substitutes places school districts in a difficult position. However, student teaching is the most valuable pre-service experience and is designed to assure that prospective teachers enter the profession successfully. Therefore, WSU discourages the use of student teachers as substitutes.

Similarly, WSU discourages the use of cooperating teachers as substitutes in other classrooms. This practice limits the cooperating teacher’s availability to mentor pre-service students and, in effect, violates the school district’s contracted responsibility to provide a student teacher with a cooperating teacher on an ongoing basis.

WSU will use the following policy for (a) awarding an Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate, and (b) allowing substitute teaching by student teachers who possess an Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate:

Determination of readiness for an Intern Substitute Teacher Certificate, or for substitute teaching by student teachers who possess an Emergency Substitute Teacher Certificate, will be made after formal observations by the university supervisor, and with input from the student teacher and the cooperating teacher.
The student-teacher must have progressed in their assignment to the point where they demonstrated the ability to effectively teach and learn from teaching solo, and no sooner than the mid-point of the student teaching experience.

The student-teacher shall notify, in writing, the student teaching supervisor of each substitute teaching assignment. The notification shall occur at the first meeting with the student teaching supervisor subsequent to the substitute teaching assignment.

In addition to the above policy, WSU encourages school districts to adhere to the following practices:

• Certificated personnel shall be legally responsible for the classroom(s) where the student-teacher is teaching as a substitute teacher.
• Teaching as a substitute should be limited to no more than three consecutive days and cannot exceed 10 days total.
• The student-teacher shall not be penalized in any way, including performance evaluations, for refusing to accept an assignment as a substitute teacher.
• The Intern Substitute Certificate is valid only during the student teaching field experience. Substitute service during the student teaching phase (1) must be in the cooperating teacher’s classroom, (2) must be approved by the university supervisor, (3) cannot exceed a total of 10 days, and (4) is limited to a maximum of three consecutive days per occurrence.

Issuance of this certificate is subject to the following conditions:

• District approval
• Completion of at least 50% of the field experience
• University supervisor and cooperating teacher approval
• Field Services Director Approval
• Application and payment of the $44.00 fee.

Substitute Request Form must be completed and submitted to john.mancinelli@wsu.edu by the Field Supervisor to complete the process.

Please Note: Some districts do not support the use of pre-service teachers as substitutes. Please check with your cooperating teacher or building administrator before applying.