Vacant - Student Teaching Placement Coordinator
Office: 3165 McCormick Center for Human Services

Carla Rodenhaver, Secretary
Phone: 570.389.5342

The culminating activity of the teacher education programs is student teaching. Having satisfied the prerequisites for student teaching courses, candidates are assigned to positions in public schools for the first or second semester of their senior year. They are placed based on the availability of qualified cooperating teachers in their subject area and the willingness of schools to affiliate with the university. A student teaching semester is designed to ensure that students have a variety of experiences.

Eligibility for student teaching will be determined during the scheduling period prior to the student teaching semester. Student teaching eligibility is contingent upon:

• Completion of the admission to teacher education process.
• Possession of an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
• A grade of C or better in all professional education and specialty courses, and appropriate methods courses specified by each teacher education certification program. (The grade of C- (minus) does not meet this criterion.)
• Continuation of professional liability insurance. The policy shall be a minimum of $1,000,000.00 per claim and $3,000,000.00 aggregate. This policy must remain in full force and effect for the duration of the practicum or student teaching assignment.
• Obtainment of current background clearances: ACT 34 (PA Request for Criminal Record Check), ACT 151 (PA Child Abuse History Clearance), and ACT 114 (FBI Federal Criminal History Record - requires fingerprinting).
• Successfully complete a five-day, noncredit field experience by the end of the sophomore year or at the earliest possible time in the case of transfer or non-traditional students. Specific diversity requirements must be met.
• Obtainment of results of a tuberculosis screening (administered the semester prior to the student teaching semester) that will be valid throughout the student teaching semester.
• Submission of test scores that prove all necessary Praxis II tests have been attempted.

To assess competency in student teaching, all teacher education candidates must have:

• Written evaluations by cooperating teachers.
• Written evaluations by univeristy supervisors.
• Grades of C or better (The grade of C- (minus) does not satisfy this criterion.)
• Two evaluations during student teaching using the PDE430 form: Pennsylvania Statewide Evaluation Form for Student Professional Knowledge and Practice, with satisfactory or above ratings.

For more information on eiligibility and competency requirements for student teaching at Bloomsburg University, visit policy PRP 3810 at http://www.bloomu.edu/policies/3810.php.

Teacher education students may not complete student teaching in any school district that they attended. Business education and special education student teaching assignments are located within an approximate 50-mile radius of Bloomsburg. The majority of student teachers in early childhood, elementary, and secondary education programs are placed within a 35-mile radius of Bloomsburg University, with some placed in Lehigh, Bucks, and Montgomery county areas and the School District of Philadelphia.

As per affiliation agreements, the school district will provide a cooperating teacher who must meet the following criteria, as defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Education: