Placement Requirements

Fingerprinting

All candidates must have a formal fingerprinting/background check completed by Maryland Livescan Fingerprinting prior to field experience.  Candidates MUST use the form found within the application to program. Failure to complete the fingerprinting/background check will prohibit candidates from participating in any field experience required through education coursework. Candidates must meet additional application and background check requirements based on their placement county for internships and will be informed of any additional requirements by the district. Additional requirements by the partner district should be addressed by intern at the time of placement. 

Meetings

Candidates are required to attend all mandated meetings, such as placement meetings, orientation and other events as announced. The Office of Clinical and Field Experience and/or program coordinator will provide meeting dates and times. Failure to attend required meetings may result in a delay in the start or continuation of field experience, as determined by the program coordinator.

Pre-practice Contacts

Candidates are required to contact their mentor teacher prior to the start of the induction or field experience. Each program will determine the method and expectations for the contact and will communicate these directions to candidates. Candidates should demonstrate professional dispositions in their pre-practice contact with school officials and mentors.

Induction

All programs require an induction experience in the Fall semester. This experience requires 3 days in the school placement, with at least 1 day before students arrive and the first days of school. Induction days, like preparation days, do NOT count toward the number of days of internship.  Candidates will record and label induction days on the time record form. Candidates should demonstrate professional dispositions (dress, professionalism) during all induction days.  Candidates who are unable to complete the required induction must complete an exception request process with the program coordinator and the Office of Clinical and Field Experience. The candidate would likely have to extend their field experience in the event of school closures upon exception approval.

Field Experience Requirement

All programs require 100 days in the field, as mandated by the state of Maryland, completed across several field experience placements. The Office of Clinical and Field Experience publishes an internship schedule for each semester. Candidates are to complete the required number of days for each experience and to follow the published start date and end date for each program. Candidates will follow the annual school system calendar for teacher workdays, professional development, holidays, and school closures. Program coordinators and the Office of Clinical and Field Experience reserve the right to adjust the field experience schedule as needed.

Program Placement Procedures

Placements for all field experiences are made by the Field Experience Coordinator in the Office of Clinical and Field Experiences. Placements are made in order to meet certification requirements for the State of Maryland.

Internship I

1. The Field Experience Coordinator, in collaboration with university, district, and school representatives, tentatively assigns the candidate a suitable partner school placement for internship. Factors to be considered are the grade level needed by the students, available mentor teachers, and partner school needs and availability. The candidate provides information about personal circumstances that might impact the placement, but no guarantee can be made that the information will influence the internship placement. Candidates will be notified individually of their assignment prior to the Internship I semester.
2. All preliminary contacts of the schools and the mentor teachers are made by the Field Experience Coordinator in the Office of Clinical and Field Experiences. Any requests for placement changes must be submitted in writing to the Clinical Coordinator.
3. Main campus candidates wishing to secure an Internship I field experience placement in Frederick or Washington County must submit an application to the Office of Clinical and Field Experience the semester prior to the Internship. Information about the process and the application are in this handbook.  The deadlines for applications are March 1 and October 15 of the preceding semester.
4. Candidates must follow their placement county’s policies on fingerprinting and onboarding requirements.

Internship II

1. The Field Experience Coordinator, with university, district, and school representatives, tentatively assigns the candidate a suitable partner school placement for internship. Factors to be considered are the grade level needed by the students, available mentor teachers and supervisors, and partner school needs and availability. The candidate provides information about personal circumstances that might impact the placement, but no guarantee can be made that the information will influence the internship placement. Candidates will be notified individually of his or her assignment prior to the Internship II semester.
2. Each candidate will continue his/her second internship within the same partner school as his/her first internship, if possible, in order to provide continuity of placement. If this is not possible, the intern will be placed in another appropriate partner school in order to meet certification requirements or to gain additional experiences with diverse students. If no partner school opening is available to meet an intern’s requirements, other suitable placements will be considered.
3. All preliminary contacts of the schools and the mentor teachers are made by the Clinical Field Experience Coordinator in the Office of Clinical and Field Experiences. Any requests for placement changes must be submitted in writing to the Field Experience Coordinator.
4. Main campus candidates wishing to secure an Internship II field experience placement in Frederick or Washington County must submit an application to the Office of Clinical and Field Experience the semester prior to the Internship. Information about the process and the application are in this handbook. The deadlines for applications are March 1 and October 15 of the preceding semester.
5. Candidates must follow their placement county’s policies on fingerprinting and onboarding requirements.

Addressing the Mentor, Supervisor, Parents, Educators and Staff

Candidates should use the appropriate titles when addressing or referring to a mentor, supervisor, parents or other educators during the field experience, as a sign of respect. All candidates should use the appropriate title (Mr. Miss, Ms., Mrs., or Dr.) and the individual’s last name when referring to mentors, supervisors, other educators, and staff members. Even if a mentor indicates that a candidate could move to a first name basis, faculty feel this would be appropriate only after the candidate has graduated and would be considered a colleague of the mentor. Appropriate titles and surnames should also be used when addressing parents, even if the candidate has a prior social relationship with the parent outside of the classroom. Any candidate questions regarding how to address individuals should be directed to the candidate’s mentor or supervisor.

University and School Breaks

Internship I and II candidates will need to follow their placement district’s calendar, (i.e., school start, Thanksgiving holiday, spring break) during the scheduled internship, in order to ensure that the scheduled number of days is met. Candidates may make special arrangements when differences exist between the university calendar and the school calendar, with permission from the Field Experience Coordinator, the University Supervisor, and the Mentor Teacher. Written requests are signed by both the Mentor Teacher and the University Supervisor and submitted to the Field Experience Coordinator in the Office of Clinical and Field Experiences.