DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROFESSIONS

To: Principals, Mentor Teachers, and M.Ed. Special Education Candidates

From: Jamey Tobery-Nystrom, Coordinator of the Special Education Program, M.Ed.

Subject: Practicum Experiences 

Thank you for providing an opportunity for this Frostburg State University M.Ed. Candidate in the Special Education program to complete a practicum in your school.

The Special Education major as part of the M.Ed. program requires candidates to complete 1practicum hour for each of the following three courses:

SPED 602

SPED 603

SPED 604

Candidates are also required to complete SPED 696: SPecial Education Practicum as the culminating experience in the program.  These experiences should be completed following the daily practices of a special education teacher and/or case manager. The schedule for the practicum will be determined by the candidate, instructor(s) of the course, and the school.

Prior to entry in these practicum experiences, all candidates have received instruction concerning confidentiality and privacy of student(s)’ information.   All candidates are expected to follow the policies and procedures of the school.  Additionally, each candidate will be monitored throughout the practicum by the course instructor and program coordinator. 

The candidate is to always work with student(s) in supervised situations.  The candidate is to communicate with parents and other professionals only with expressed consent of the mentor teacher/school administrator.  The candidate is to perform duties as directed by the mentor teacher.  All assignments for Frostburg State University Special Education courses are to be viewed as practice exercises.

Each course will have a variety of assignments: preparing and implementing an assistive technology plan/less, preparing and implementing the Universally Design Lesson, creating a classroom management system, practicing the skills necessary to complete functional behavior assessments, creating behavior intervention plans, and participating as an observer of the Individualized Education Plan process.

If you have an additional questions or concerns, please contact me at 240-527-2735 or jctoberynystrom@frostburg.edu .

Thank you, again for this opportunity for our M.Ed. candidate.

Jamey Tobery-Nystrom, Coordinator, Special Education

Room 154

60 West Washington Street

Hagerstown, MD 21740