Policies and Requirements for Clinical Experiences
Teaching Candidates are expected to display professional and responsible dispositions and follow the policies established by the Office of Educational Partnerships and Experiences.
Policies
Teaching candidates should adhere to all policies and procedures set forth for the clinical experience and the teacher education program.
- Attendance policy
One of the fundamental requirements for the teacher candidate’s clinical experience is to be completely present. Candidates will request a signature from the Cooperating Teacher every two weeks and upload the Weekly Log to Canvas. Candidates should record calamity days that occur which are excused absences. If the candidate is absent or tardy for any reason, they must make up the missed time to meet the expected hours for this course. Candidates should report absences and tardies to the Cooperating Teacher (CT) and University Supervisor.
- Clinical placement policy
To prepare Teacher Candidates for meeting the State’s minimum requirements and in alignment with the Educational Partnerships and Experiences (EDP&E) Urban Educator development quest, EdP&E is intentional in securing placements in the City of Detroit and the Detroit Metro area in one of our Partnership School Districts. No teaching candidate shall contact a school district concerning a request for a clinical placement.
- Clinical repetition policy
For purposes of this policy, repetition is defined as re-enrolling in a course after the student fails an initial attempt at the course.
All clinical courses and internships are designated as “no repeat,” meaning that students will need an override to register to repeat a course. In order to obtain an override to enroll in a clinical course or internship for a second time, the student must have an approved (signed) Support Plan on file with the Office of Educational Partnerships and Experiences. It is the responsibility of the student to accommodate and attend all scheduled meetings related to the Support Plan. The Support Plan must be fully executed by the first day of the placement or the student will need to withdraw from the internship.
Absent extraordinary circumstances, students may repeat either pre-student teaching OR student teaching one time only, but they may not repeat both.
Students may repeat each clinical course outside of pre-student teaching and student teaching one time each. A second repetition will not be permitted. If a student repeats one or more clinical courses prior to student teaching, they must meet with the Office of Educational Partnerships and Experiences to determine whether a support plan will be required for a pre-student teaching or student teaching placement. If a support plan is required, it must be approved (signed) by the Director of Educational Partnerships and Experiences prior to the student beginning their internship.
Please note that Wayne State University will not recommend students for certification if there is a lack of engagement in this support plan as written and/or the student receives an unsatisfactory grade in the clinical course. If a student refuses to cooperate with a support plan, they may not repeat the clinical course and may be excluded from the program.
- Grading system
Teaching candidates will receive a Satisfactory (S) or Unsatisfactory (U) grade.
- On the Job request
The On-the-Job Teaching Experience allows teacher candidates to complete either their student teaching semester or their yearlong placement (for qualified programs) as a full-time employee of a school district. Teacher Candidates who request an entire yearlong placement are not guaranteed that required co-requisite coursework will be available in the evenings.
Summary of documents needed
School District- Mentoring Plan that includes:
- Cooperating Teacher name, email, school, grade level, certification
- Frequency of observations and feedback to the candidate
- Other opportunities
- The Mentoring Plan should be signed by the School Principal, District Representative, Cooperating Teacher, and Teacher Candidate.
- Formal Letter of Support from School Principal:
- Letter on letterhead confirming agreement of the responsibilities above and signature of the School Principal
- Formal Letter of Support from Human Resources Representative
- Letter on district letterhead confirming agreement of above responsibilities and acknowledgement of cooperating teacher's certification.
It is the responsibility of the Teacher Candidate to have the required information submitted to Juanda Witherspoon,(ar6731@wayne.edu) Assistant Director, Educational Partnerships and Experiences by:
- Fall semester: March 15
- Winter semester: September 15
The documents should be sent as one continuous document in the following order:
- Mentoring Plan
- Formal Letter of Support Building Principal
- Formal Letter of Support District Human Resources Representative
The application will be reviewed by EdP&E, and if approved the candidate will be contacted by email. The OTJ Agreement will be provided by EdP&E for the candidate and district representative signatures. If the OTJ is not approved, the candidate will be notified by email.
- Mentoring Plan that includes:
- Professional Conduct Policy
The College of Education requires Teacher Candidates to be professionals with sound judgment, ethical behavior, trustworthiness, confidentiality, responsibility, and the highest professional ideals. The Teacher Candidate will engage in ongoing professional learning and use evidence to continually evaluate their practice, particularly the effects of their choices and actions on others (learners, families, other professionals, and the community), and adapts their practices to meet the needs of each learner. These expectations align with the EdP&E Expectations for Professionalism and Dispositions, Michigan Professional Educators Code of Ethics, and the Educators Preparation Program Candidate Statement of Commitment to Professional Dispositions.
The College of Education Teacher Candidates will uphold the standards and expectations in all aspects of their professional coursework, clinical work, interactions with education colleagues, and interactions with BK-12 students and families. The expectations are outlined in the following documentation:
- Michigan Code of Educational Ethics
- Candidate Statement of Commitment to Professional Dispositions (CSCPD)
Dispositions will be assessed three times during the Teacher Candidates’ program.
- TED 2200
- Respective Methods Course
- Student Teaching
The Teacher Candidate must meet dispositional expectations on all items of the CSCPD before the College of Education will make a recommendation for teacher certification to the Michigan Department of Education.
- Restrictions conflict of interest
Teacher Candidates may not seek a placement in districts or schools in which a potential for conflict of interest exists. Potential conflicts of interest may pertain to but are not limited to the following:
- The Teacher Candidate graduated from the school district.
- The Teacher Candidate is working for the school or district in which placement is secured (except for the On-the-Job Appeal).
- A family member works for the school district in which placement is secured.
Requirements
This is an exciting step in your journey to becoming a teacher, below are the requirements for Clinical Experiences Placements.
- Application and placement process
All candidates who are enrolling in a clinical experience must complete a Clinical Application. The purpose of the Clinical Application is to ensure that the Office of Educational Partnerships and Experiences has the time and information needed to assign teaching candidates to a collaborating teacher and a university supervisor.
Clinical placements are made by the office of Educational Partnerships and Experience. Students are not permitted to coordinate their own placements. No student shall contact a school district, school administrator, teacher or other staff member concerning a request for their placement for pre-student or student teaching. The candidate will receive a placement confirmation from Educational Partnerships and Experiences.
All clinical placements will be assigned within a 25 mile-radius of Wayne State University College of Education.
The clinical application for Fall 2024 is closed. The clinical application for winter 2025 will be open August 2024. All questions may be directed to Juanda Witherspoon, Assistant Director of EdP&E, ar6731@wayne.edu.
Deadlines to apply for all clinicals
- Fall semester: March 15
- Winter semester: September 15
*Any application submitted beyond the above due dates, may be considered, but the student is not guaranteed a placement.
- CastleBranch background check
All College of Education candidates must have a valid CastleBranch Background Check before being notified of their assigned placement. The background check must be cleared at least two weeks before orientation, as candidates must communicate with the Cooperating Teacher (CT) before starting the clinical experience. After the clinical application is confirmed, EdP&E will send the teaching candidate a link to the CastleBranch site.
The CastleBranch Background Check is valid for six months and is the only approved background check WSU College of Education accepts. Please note that some school districts may also require a background check. The candidate is responsible for all costs related to the background checks.
Please note: If you have lived in New York, there will be an additional fee due to the State of New York background check laws.
- Clinical orientation
Teaching Candidates in clinical courses must attend an orientation for each clinical course before the semester begins. Orientation will provide the requirements of the clinical course, which is essential to the candidates’ transition into the profession of teaching. Once orientation is completed, the student will be permitted to begin clinical work for the semester. Orientation for the Fall semester is held in August and orientation for the Winter semester is held in December. You will receive the orientation dates upon approval of your clinical application. The clinical background check should be cleared two weeks before orientation.