QUESTIONS FOR YOUR MENTOR TEACHER

General School Information

1. How is the building arranged? May I have a floor plan and a tour of the building?
2. What type of community surrounds the school?
3. What is the average class size and how many students are in the school?
4. Is there a school lunch program or a place for teachers who bring their lunch?
5. What are the facilities/resources that can be used by the teacher and class such as computers and other technology, the library, and other resources/supplies?
6. Do special teachers visit the school?  How may I learn about their services?
7. What are the major interests, achievements, and activities of the students in this grade?
8. Are there any unusual classes?
9. May I observe other teachers at some time during my intern experience?
10. How can I become involved with in the school community?

Procedure and Policy

1. What time does school begin and end, and when am I expected to arrive in the morning and leave in the afternoon?
2. How do you manage the students and classroom? What techniques should I as an intern use?
3. How can I access the school handbook and general school policies?
4. What grading system is used in this school, and what grading responsibilities will I have?
5. How can I access the calendar of school activities and events?
6. What professional development activities and meetings will be available for me to attend?
7. What extra duties will be required of me?

Classroom

1. What do you expect of me, and what materials will I need?
2. What will be my teaching schedule? How will you release responsibility of the class to me?
3. How and when would you want to receive my lesson plans before teaching?
4. What abilities will my students have? How is grouping used in the classroom?
5. How can I access the class textbooks and manuals?
6. What are the general room policies?
7. How long will I be able to observe before I start teaching?

Personal

1. Are there any social restrictions either from the school or the community?
2. How will you inform me of my progress? When is a good time for us to conference each day?
3. What is the best way to contact you?

Who can request a placement in Frederick or Washington Counties?

1. Intern I candidates in the fall may request a placement and transfer to the Hagerstown Campus to complete their Block II courses at USM-Hagerstown and Internship I experience in Frederick or Washington Counties. These candidates would continue with their Internship II in their F/W PDS during the spring semester. Only Elem candidates who have completed their specialization and are not middle school would be eligible for this option.
2. Intern I candidates in the spring may request a Frederick or Washington Co. placement. Block II courses would be completed at the Frostburg campus.  As Intern IIs in the fall, these candidates would continue in their F/W PDS placements but would remain a Frostburg campus student.
3. Intern II candidates in the fall may request a Frederick or Washington Co. placement. The EDUC 422: Leadership Seminar may not be offered at USM-Hagerstown, so candidates would enroll in and travel to that course at the Frostburg campus.
4. Intern II candidates in the spring  may request a placement and transfer to the Hagerstown Campus to complete their EDUC 422: Leadership seminar course at USM-H and Internship II experience in a Frederick or Washington County PDS.

What conditions apply?

1. Placement priority is given to candidates originally enrolled at the USM-Hagerstown campus.
2. Placements are dependent on the availability of required placements and supervision resources in the Frederick/Washington PDS network.
3. Interns will be placed in existing Professional Development Schools in Washington County or Frederick County.  Candidates are encouraged to complete 100 days in one PDS placement.

What additional responsibilities will the candidates have?

1. Candidates transferring to USM-H are responsible for completing required courses not offered at the Hagerstown Campus (currently the Middle school curriculum, elementary specialization courses and those courses out of the EC/Elem program sequence- EDUC 422:Leadership Seminar in the fall). This responsibility includes transportation by the candidate and scheduling must avoid conflicts with Hagerstown courses.
2. After registering for the Hagerstown courses (Intern I in the fall, Intern II in the spring), the candidate will notify the Registrar’s Office to have their campus changed to Hagerstown.

 How to apply?

1. Obtain an application from the Field Experience Handbook or from the Office of Clinical and Field Experiences.
2. Complete the application, which includes an explanation of the reasons for the transfer.
3. Obtain your advisor’s signature.
4. Submit the application to the Office of Clinical and Field Experiences by March 15^th (spring) or October 15^th (fall) in the semester prior to the transfer semester.

How will I be notified of my placement?

1. Placement notification will be through the normal procedures for Internship assignments used by the Office of Clinical and Field Experiences.
2. Your transfer will be approved by the PreK-8 Coordinator and the Placement Coordinator (OCFE), based on the admission requirements for Professional Development Schools and Phase III and the availability of placements and supervisors. The USM–H PreK-8 Liaison will be notified once the transfer is approved.

Praxis II (Subject Assessments) Information

MAT-Elementary Program

TESTING REQUIREMENTS

Entrance into Practicum II for the MAT-Elementary Program, verification of having taken or having registered for the required Praxis II Subject Assessment tests is required.

To be hired in the state of Maryland, the required tests must be passed at the level prescribed by the state.

REQUIRED TESTS                                                                                                                                         

For ELEM majors , there are two required tests in the Praxis II Subject Assessment series.

For ELEM/MIDDLE majors or ELEM majors wishing to teach middle school, there are two tests in the Praxis II series required and a third one recommended to prove you are highly qualified in your subject area.

*Those candidates seeking a middle school position should be aware that some districts required middle school teachers to also pass the secondary Praxis II exam for their subject area. See the Maryland requirements at the ETS Praxis website for info on those tests and passing scores.

TEST DATES                                                                                                

Dates for the testing windows for each test are located at https://www.ets.org/praxis/register/centers_dates/ . Be aware that while the test you need to take can be completed during the ETS-designated testing window, the FSU testing center may limit the test dates at the center within that window. Be sure to plan your testing and to schedule your testing at the FSU center thoughtfully!

REGISTRATION

ONLINE OR BY MAIL www.ets.org/praxis/register

Registration is required and must be received by a published date which is about a month ahead of the test. Please put Frostburg State University as a site to receive scores when taking tests. Put 5402 after both the “A” and “R” blocks on the registration form. A is for your attending Institution and R is recipient of test scores.

SCORES

For tests that are offered during testing windows, scores will be available in your online ETS account 2–3 weeks after the testing window closes, regardless of the specific date on which you tested within that window. Scores will be accessible via your account for one year from the posting date. Save a copy of your report for your files.

For more information on the Praxis assessments, registration procedures, scoring and Maryland requirements, visit: https://www.ets.org/praxis/md