At any point in a candidate’s progress through the teacher education program, there may be circumstances where an intervention involving termination may be necessary. In these cases, the intervention must be handled judiciously, and often with immediacy. In addition to strict adherence to due process rights of candidates, attention must also be given to the needs of children, partnership teachers and school administrators.
The following intervention steps must be observed in internship and/or student teaching:
Inform the student. Open communication between the intern, partnership teacher, and university supervisor guides the intern in monitoring his/her growth. Concerns regarding any evaluation criteria need to be communicated early and in writing with the intern’s signature acknowledging awareness of the concern(s). The university supervisor should forward a copy of all documentation to Director of Teacher Education.
Support or assistance. Partnership teacher and university supervisor support professional development in concern areas using available resources.
Written notification. If a candidate is in jeopardy of not successfully completing the internship or student teaching, the university supervisor notifies him/her in writing specifying which exit criteria are not being met. In addition, the supervisor in collaboration with the partnership teacher develops a Candidate Intervention Report (click here).
Meeting. In the event a candidate needs to be removed from the internship or student teaching, the Director of Teacher Education (or designee), University Supervisor, and school personnel (as appropriate) meet with the intern. At the meeting, the candidate:
Receives a written summary of the areas of concern in the form of the Candidate Intervention Report;
Has an opportunity to further review documentation supporting the removal decision; and
Responds to the concerns.
Appeal. In the event the student disagrees with the decision, the student may request an appeal to the Dean of the College of Education & Human Services within forty-eight (48) hours after notification of the decision. A decision of the Dean is final and may not be appealed. The request for appeal must be in writing and must state the reasons for the appeal and the remedy requested.