Employment Policies

Working in schools while in the MEdT Program

Because the Partnership School Model is a integral component of the MEdT Program, it is preferred that candidates be placed in our partner schools whenever possible. Our partnerships allow the candidate to be fully immersed in the school community and assignments for the core courses will be based on candidate experiences there. That said, the MEdT program understands that some of our candidates may already be teaching in a public, private or charter school before starting the program. In order to enable these candidates to retain their employment and support the school, the MEdT program may allow the candidate to use their position to meet the field requirements if all of the following conditions are met:

    • the candidate is in good academic standing

    • approval is obtained using an On the Job (OJT) Application Form signed by:

      • their cohort coordinator(s)

      • the MEdT program director

      • their principal/school administrator

    • the work is in the candidate's area of licensure, is consistent with the field expectations and the duties are typical for a full-time classroom teacher in that content area

    • the employment does not interfere with the candidate's ability to attend class meetings and complete assigned work related to courses

    • cohort coordinators and the school administrator can find a suitable mentor for the candidate

    • the cohort coordinators do not have any concerns about the candidate's readiness to perform the duties of a classroom teacher and successfully meet program expectations.

Candidates who are not already employed in a school position at the start of the program are discouraged from seeking school employment that would conflict with field days during the first two semesters of the program. Such employment disrupts the placements and agreements established with partner schools. Not all school employment is consistent with program field expectations and additional field hours may need to be completed to meet program requirements.

Candidates who are considering employment as a classroom teacher while enrolled in the program should understand that the program is not in a position to offer employment advice. To ensure that a new position will not interfere with program requirements, candidates should submit an OJT application prior to accepting a new position that the candidate proposes to be counted towards the field requirements of the program. (Disclaimer: The program does not provide employment advice but will decide whether the position is acceptable towards the program's field requirement.) Candidates should act in their best interests, but understand that those who are unable to meet program requirements will have to withdraw from the program.

Substitute Teaching

Teacher candidates shall not work as substitute teachers while they are actively completing and fulfilling their practicum requirements at their assigned school on their assigned practicum days unless they are student teaching (see below).

Teacher candidates working as substitute teachers must meet all substitute teacher requirements as required by their employer and must follow their employment policies. Compensation for such work is subject to the employer's policies. It is the candidate's responsibility to familiarize and comply with the hiring agency's policies. The College of Education, MEdT faculty and staff are not responsible to provide information and support about the employment processes of the hiring agency.

In Semester's 1 and 2

Candidates may sub in any school on non-field days at their discretion. Candidates may not sub on assigned field days.

During Student Teaching

During the student teaching practicum semester, a teacher candidate may substitute for their mentor teacher with the approval of the mentor teacher, school administrator, and cohort coordinator. The teacher candidate may substitute only for their mentor teacher in accordance with the school's policy, and there are no exceptions. The decision to allow a student teacher to substitute for his/her cooperating teacher should be made collectively by the student teacher, cooperating teacher, school administrator and cohort coordinator. School administrators are not obligated to ask a student teacher to serve as a substitute and may choose to hire someone else to serve as a substitute teacher. The substitute teacher then becomes the teacher-of-record.

Approval Process

Please discuss your placement with your cohort coordinator and submit an On the Job (OJT) Application Form. If your cohort coordinator approves your placement, the MEdT faculty committee will review your position. If approved, you will receive a signed copy of the form to take to your school administrator for signature. Your field placement will be fully approved once the signed form is returned to the MEdT Office.

Problems Accessing the OJT Form

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