Coordination of Schools and University

Policies and Procedures are collaboratively developed and regularly reviewed by the university faculty and representatives of local school districts. 

  1. All placements are coordinated by the MSU Field Placement and Licensure Office (FPLO) in cooperation with the school district administrators where placements are being sought. 
  2. School administrators are made aware of the MSU FPLO policies. All prospective pre-service teachers (PSTs) are provided with equitable treatment by the FPLO and P-12 partners. 
  3. Cooperating teachers (CTs) and university field supervisors (FSs) have considerable teaching experience, are prepared to supervise pre-service teachers, and are well informed of university policies. 
  4. The school administrator will ensure that a cooperating teacher is well qualified and willing to work with a pre-service teacher. Cooperating teachers must have a minimum of two years teaching experience to mentor practicum and internship students and three years of teaching experience to mentor student teacher candidates, both with a similar grade level and subject area as that of the TC. 
  5. Placements are arranged as much as possible, to ensure students gain a variety of classroom experiences. 
  6. Students are placed where they will receive an unbiased assessment and will not be placed in a school district where they have friends or relatives in professional positions - or, in the case of secondary/K-12 candidates, in high schools from which they graduated within the previous five years.  This helps ensure an equitable experience for all candidates. 
  7. Because MSU FPLO facilitates rather than creates placements, clinical assignments cannot be guaranteed.  MOUs are in place that determine placement protocols.  Local agreements require that placement offerings go through administrators who disseminate this information to teachers meeting both placement of school and MSU qualifications.  These teachers, in turn, review materials prepared by pre-service teachers and select candidates they consider appropriate matches for their classrooms.  Thus, many factors go into the placement process over which MSU has little or no influence. Additionally, MSU faculty, when necessary, will coordinate placement requests through the FPLO office. The best chances of obtaining a first-choice placement are gained by:
    1. Creating a high-quality reputation for professionalism during each level of clinical experience and accompanying coursework.
    2. Preparing professional, high-quality materials for review by prospective cooperating teachers and administrators. 
  8. Internships comprise 80 hours under an appropriately licensed educator.
    1. EDU 498 Reading Internship and EDSP 498 Special Education Internship students can be placed in either a traditional 14-week student teaching placement (blended day), or a 9/5 student teaching split: 9 weeks in primary placement, followed by 5 weeks in the internship placement or a standalone placement prior to student teaching for 80 hours.
  9. Exceptions to the above-stated policies include either (1) a variance request or (2) an accommodation made through the MSU Office of Disabilities.