The best preparation for student teaching is active participation in the coursework and field experiences required prior to student teaching. These responsibilities are designed to prepare teacher candidates for the intensive activities and learning required during student teaching.
Placement Process
Roosevelt’s scaffolded approach to field experiences enables the Director of Clinical Experiences to pursue placements for student teachers about one year prior to the start of the actual student teaching experience. During your field experience courses, you will be asked by the Director of Clinical Experiences to update key information—such as your phone and home address—so that the process of reaching out to schools can begin. It is the responsibility of each and every teacher candidate to make sure that the home and work addresses in RU Access and student files are up to date and correct. Consequently, you should immediately contact both your advisor and the Director of Clinical Experiences if any details related to your home or work change while you are enrolled in a Roosevelt teacher preparation program.
When the Director of Clinical Experiences sends a student teaching request to a district, the request normally includes unofficial Roosevelt transcripts with your GPA, your resume and a letter of request. Teacher candidates can contact Roosevelt’s Office of Career Development for assistance and support with creating a resume.
Some schools and districts require additional documentation and/or an interview. If a school or district requires additional documentation and/or an interview, the teacher candidate will be notified by the Director of Clinical Experiences. Teacher candidates should be prepared to provide, upon request, one or more of the following documents:
- A letter of interest
- An educational/personal philosophy
- A writing sample
- Official Roosevelt University transcripts
- Official undergraduate transcripts from all universities/colleges attended
- References and/or letters of recommendation
The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and several suburban school districts require a separate application and have their own student teaching application procedures and deadlines. Consequently, some teacher candidates will need to complete a district-specific application process. For more information on applying to student teach in a CPS school, visit https://www.teach.cps.edu/student-teacher.
In cases where a school or district requests an interview, the candidate is required to attend. If the candidate is accepted for student teaching, they will accept the placement. If the candidate is not accepted, an alternate placement will be sought. Candidates who need support with interviewing will be directed to Roosevelt’s Office of Career Development.
Because student teaching presents both physical and emotional challenges, all teacher candidates are expected to be in good physical health and free from severe, chronic, or persistent personal or emotional difficulties as they complete the placement process and enter student teaching.
Most student teaching takes place in the Spring semester. To earn approval to enroll in Spring 2023 student teaching, all Roosevelt teacher candidates must take their required content exam(s) by September 1, 2022. The exam does not have to be passed to enroll in student teaching; however, to assess progress toward achieving a passing score, all teacher candidates must have completed at least three attempts by December 1. Beginning on December 1, Roosevelt will deny admission to student teaching to all teacher candidates who do not have a record of a pass OR a minimum of three attempts to pass the required content exam(s). Those planning to student teach in Fall 23 must make at least 1 attempt by May 1, 2023. If they do not pass, they must attempt at least two more times by August 1, 2023. There is no maximum to the number of attempts you may need to take to pass the content test prior to licensure.
Please be aware that school districts may request proof of passing the content exam to confirm a student teaching placement for Spring 2023. In addition, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) requires a passing score on content exams to earn a Professional Educator License (PEL). Please contact your academic advisor if you have questions about which content exam you should take. Additional information about content exams is available at http://www.il.nesinc.com/.
Before enrolling in student teaching, all student teachers are required to complete an online training course for mandated reporters that is available at http://www.dcfstraining.org/manrep/index.jsp. In addition, teacher candidates must email their Evidence of Completion and a signed Acknowledgement of Mandated Reporter Status Form to studentteaching@roosevelt.edu. The form is available at https://www2.illinois.gov/dcfs/aboutus/notices/Documents/CANTS_22_Acknowledgement_of_Mandated_Reporter_Status_(Fillable).pdf.
Criminal background check (CBC) and TB tests also are required prior to student teaching. The TB test must be taken less than 90 days before the start of student teaching. Consequently, CBC and TB tests should not be conducted until after the student teacher is directed to do so by the Director of Clinical Experiences or by the assigned school or district. Approved sites for doing your CBC are generally designated by the district where student teaching is being done. There is often a fee involved. The CBC receipts and TB test results that are required prior to beginning student teaching should be emailed to studentteaching@roosevelt.edu. Contact the Director of Clinical Experiences if you have questions about these documents.
Application for Graduation
Applications for graduation should be submitted through RU Access in the semester before student teaching. Please consult the Registrar’s website for more information about deadlines and process.
Mandatory Student Teaching Orientation
Spring student teachers are required to attend a mandatory student teaching orientation. The purpose of the orientation is to address department and programmatic expectations for a successful experience. Details about the orientation are communicated in the Fall semester and the orientation typically takes place on Zoom in November or December.
Placement assignments
Typically, student teachers are placed at schools where they do not have prior personal experiences. Personal experiences include prior enrollment and attendance, enrollment and attendance by a candidate’s child or children, and employment of a relative or close family friend at a school site. This policy ensures an optimal student teaching experience without the appearance of a conflict of interest. Teacher candidates are responsible for contacting their advisor and/or the Director of Clinical Experiences in the event that they have a conflict of interest of one of these types.
In order to ensure good relationships with schools and districts, teacher candidates are not allowed to secure their own student teaching placements or "cold call" schools. If the Director of Clinical Experiences discovers that a candidate has violated this policy, they may request that the teacher candidate meet with the Chair of the Department of Teacher Preparation to discuss an appropriate consequence.
The Director of Clinical Experiences tries to secure student teaching placements that require no more than one-hour of travel. Every effort is made to obtain placements near candidates’ homes. Student teachers must provide their own transportation to their placement sites.
Timeline for placements
For Spring student teaching, the Director of Clinical Experiences tries to secure student teaching placements by the last day of classes in the Fall semester. For Fall student teaching, the deadline is the last day of summer classes. Teacher candidates are notified as soon as a placement is obtained. If the expected timeline for placement is not met, the Director of Clinical Experiences will hold a face-to-face or Zoom meeting with the teacher candidate(s) to explain the situation and the plan for obtaining a placement in the future.
Change in placement request
Once a student teaching placement has been made, it is extremely rare that it is changed. Prior to the start of student teaching, a teacher candidate may request a change in placement by submitting a written request that details all rationale for making a change. All requests should be directed to the Executive Director of the Office of School & Community Engagement. A decision will be communicated within ten days of receipt of the request. Appeals of decisions made by the Executive Director of the Office of School & Community Engagement will go to the Chair of the Department of Teacher Preparation for a hearing. The appeal process ends with the decision of the Chair.
Employment and other commitments
Teacher candidates are not permitted to engage in outside employment during student teaching. The discovery of employment may result in the termination of the placement and removal from student teaching.
Candidates also may not take additional course work while they are student teaching, unless they have the written permission of the Chair of the Department of Teacher Preparation.
Because of the demands of student teaching, continuing university athletic participation is not encouraged. In general, the Department of Teacher Preparation requires student teaching at a time when it does not coincide with athletics. Appeals of this policy should be addressed to the Chair of the Department of Teacher Preparation for a hearing. The appeal process ends with the decision of the Chair.