Arizona Teaching Intern Frequently Asked Questions

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1 Arizona Teaching Intern Frequently Asked Questions What is the overall time required to complete the Alternative Pathway Program/GCU s AZ Teaching Intern Program? How can I obtain a full-time contracted teaching position? The state certificate lasts for a year. This will depend on the amount of courses remaining to complete students program of study. (The student is able to become eligible for the AZ Teaching Intern program any time within the first year of his/her program.) Generally, students who have worked in a district as a volunteer or teacher s assistant and have experience working in schools in some fashion have a higher rate for success when assigned a full time teaching contract. Students are responsible for finding full-time employment. Some helpful job posting links are: AZ Education Employment Board: GCU s JobQuest Board: Quest.php Will I be required to take any additional classes? How can I complete the practicum hours required throughout my program? Do I have to complete the student teaching coursework? AZ Teaching Interns follow the same program requirements displayed on the Program of Study as non-az Teaching Interns. AZ Teaching Interns follow the same program requirements as a non-az Teaching Intern, including meeting all required practicum hours. We encourage students to participate in a diverse range of experiences. AZ Teaching Interns will need to be creative in how they obtain the hours if the required setting falls outside of the parameters of their classroom, using lunch periods, prep periods, or before/after school sessions. As a reminder, all students should consult their course instructor for any questions regarding the practicum setting. As a student enrolled into the Institutional Recommendation (IR) program one is required to complete 16 weeks of student teaching coursework. If a student is an AZ

2 Teaching Intern, he or she would complete the student teaching in his or her own classroom. We do offer a non-ir version of the program which excludes the student teaching coursework. However, we are not able to provide an IR letter for any student that goes through the non-ir route. You may contact the AZ Department of Education to discuss your teaching experience and discuss your options for the provisional certificate. You may ask them if you can obtain provisional certification without completing the IR program and without obtaining the IR letter based on having 2 years of teaching experience. What if I have a personal situation that prevents me from following this schedule (child, financial issues, etc.)? How many absences am I allowed? Please note: other states outside of AZ may require an IR letter in order to receive certification/licensure. It is important to understand that GCU will be unable to provide any student an IR letter unless he/she successfully completes an IR program. AZ Teaching Interns will need to follow the scheduled requirements or he/she will jeopardize successful completion of his/her program and eligibility for an IR. All requested time off will need to be scheduled (substitute assigned and lesson plans provided) as any other teacher in the building. AZ Teaching Interns are allowed as many days as the district allows. These absences should be used only as needed and communicated as early in advance as possible to the mentor, supervisor, and building principal. AZ Teaching Interns that have reached the student teaching portion of the program will want to refer to the Clinical Practice Manual s absence policy.

3 Education/Clinical-Practice/Student- Teaching.php Am I required to attend meetings or events that take place before/after school? How should I dress? What is the difference between a cooperating teacher and mentor? Can I work on my online course assignments at my school site? What should I do to prepare for teaching? When will I be assigned a supervisor and how will I find out who he/she is? AZ Teaching Interns are required to attend anything that contracted teachers are required to attend, such as: faculty/staff meetings, IEP meetings, parent/teacher conference, after or before school duty, workshops/in-services when available, etc. AZ Teaching Interns will need to dress professionally, such as business casual. AZ Teaching Interns are expected to follow all rules and guidelines as outlined by the district. A Cooperating Teacher is an experienced teacher who hosts a student teacher in the CT s classroom and works along with them on a daily basis. A Mentor is an experienced teacher assigned to work with an AZ Teaching Intern, who is a contracted teacher, completing their program of study in their own classroom. No, these need to be completed outside of the school day. Please review the Clinical Practice manual in detail if you have not done so already. Education/Clinical-Practice/Student- Teaching.php AZ Teaching Interns can view the evaluation form at the end of the manual (Site Evaluation Form # 2 and 3) to be aware of what standards he/she will be expected to meet during the course of his/her internship. A GCU Supervisor will visit the school site two (2) times, each semester (16 weeks), to complete the evaluation form and upload the evaluation scores into TaskStream. The

4 Are my evaluations placed into Taskstream? Will I have the same supervisor each semester? What happens if my Intern Certificate expires? What happens if I stop working or lose my position? What happens if I drop below the required grade point average (GPA)? GCU Supervisor will visit the school site four (4) times during the 16 week student teaching session. Once the AZ Teaching Intern has been assigned a GCU Supervisor, he/she will be contacted, and contact information will be provided. Yes, all AZ Teaching Interns have a separate AZ Intern portfolio created within his/her Taskstream account. The GCU Supervisor will upload all evaluations throughout the internship to the AZ Intern portfolio. The four (4) evaluations that take place during the student teaching session will be uploaded to the AZ Teaching Intern s regular Program of Study portfolio within Taskstream. GCU will always attempt to provide the same supervisor each semester. However, due to scheduling conflicts, it is possible your GCU Supervisor may change from one semester to another. The AZ Intern Certificate is valid for one year. The AZ Teaching Intern will need to extend his/her certificate with ADE before the expiration date. In order for an intern to be eligible to extend his/her certificate for the second year, he/she needs to have successfully completed at least 50% of the Master degree program, request a letter from the College of Education and send the signed letter to the ADE. Request for the Letter of Extension can be sent to azteachinginterns@gcu.edu The AZ Teaching Intern must contact his/her Student Service Advisor and the College of Education (azteachinginters@gcu.edu) immediately. If this occurs, the student can simply remain in his/her program of study as a regular student, and the AZ Intern certificate will lapse after one year. In order to remain eligible for the internship, AZ Teaching Interns must be in compliance with all programmatic

5 What will happen when I complete all my courses in my program of study and all evaluations have been completed and uploaded into TaskStream? What are the benefits of being an AZ Teaching Intern? The challenges? Who can I contact with any questions or concerns regarding the internship? requirements. This includes meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress, as well as, remaining active in classes. If an AZ Teaching Intern fails to remain eligible, the College of Education will contact the Arizona Department of Education making them aware of the intern s current status at GCU. In the case the student wishes to return to GCU and complete the internship program, he/she must fulfill all requirements set forth by the academic and financial team, as well as, contact the College of Education (azteachinginterns@gcu.edu) requesting to return to the internship program. Reinstatement to GCU s AZ Intern program must take place prior to the expiration date listed on the certificate. The AZ Teaching Intern will fill out a request for an Institutional Recommendation from GCU. The assigned Teacher Education Specialist can assist with any matters pertaining to the Institutional Recommendation form. Benefits: opportunity to bring your expertise and career experience to teaching, obtain valuable hands-on experience while completing your degree, receive full teaching salary and benefits. Challenges: acclimating to first year teaching and taking graduate level coursework, varying levels of district support. All questions/concerns regarding the AZ Teaching Intern program can be sent to the AZ Intern inbox: azteachinginterns@gcu.edu