Student Teaching Policies

Enrolling in any one of the Supervised Teaching courses does not guarantee that candidates will be allowed to complete the full course of Supervised Teaching (Student Teaching or intern teaching) or that they will be recommended for a teaching credential.

• If a candidate’s performance in Supervised Teaching or their performance in the non-teaching responsibilities of teachers in the school fails to meet the standards of the program as determined by either the school or the University, they may be withdrawn from Supervised Teaching at any point during the semester. The Program Director may or may not negotiate a new placement during that semester.

• Student Teaching Candidates do not negotiate their own field placements. If a candidate chooses not to accept or complete an arranged Supervised Teaching placement, the Program Director may or may not negotiate a new placement during the semester.

All candidates should email both the University Supervisor and Directing Teacher(s) prior to any absence. If a candidate must be absent from the school site for more than three consecutive days for any reason, they should email the Program Director for approval and may be required to make up these days. To request this permission, at least a week in advance of their absence, a candidate must write a memo to the school site Department Chair, which responds to these four questions:

1. When will the candidate be gone?

2. What is the purpose of this absence?

3. How will this experience benefit the candidate as a teacher?

How will the candidate manage their responsibilities at school and assignments for Dominican classes during their absence?

A candidate may serve as a substitute teacher during Supervised Teaching in certain circumstances. Candidates are individually responsible for applying for a Substitute Teaching Permit. The following qualifications are considered by faculty when candidates apply for substitute teaching:

• Permission to serve as a short-term substitute is granted only to those who have already successfully established the habit of meeting professional obligations.

• Permission to serve as a substitute is restricted to the department and to the placement school (they may not become part of the district substitute pool).

• A substitute assignment is an overload assignment that is in addition to the candidate's regular responsibilities; it cannot replace any of them.

• A substitute assignment cannot interfere with Dominican coursework or with the field assignments.

  • Upon learning that substituting is interfering in any way with the candidate's responsibilities, faculty may withdraw their permission for the remainder of the placement.

• Those candidates who apply for a short-term staff permit during Student Teaching may delay their preliminary credential application at the end of the program; the candidate accepts responsibility for this possibility.