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VSU Home > Dewar College of Education > Student Information > Teacher Education > Student Teaching General Information

Student teaching General INformation

Requirements for Student Teaching

The student teaching experience is a ten credit hours field experience for a full semester term in a selected classroom setting and is the last semester of your education program.

A two credit hours seminar is scheduled concurrently with the student teaching experience. The first seminar meeting is an orientation to the student teaching experience which includes a review of the student teaching handbook and a discussion of the expectations for each participant in this experience--student teacher, mentor teacher, and university supervisor. An application for your Georgia teaching certificate is completed at this meeting. Seminars, in addition to this orientation, will be scheduled by your department during the student teaching experience.

A student who receives a grade of Unsatisfactory (U) for student teaching may apply for student teaching only one additional time. The student will be required to complete a prescribed program of remediation before being permitted to student teach the second time. Any student who receives a second grade of “U” for student teaching will be permanently dismissed from all teacher education programs in the Dewar College of Education and will not be recommended for teacher certification by Valdosta State University.

Student Teaching Application and Placement Information

1. The student teaching application may be obtained from the Dean's Office or from one of the departmental offices. The completed application must be returned by the deadline. Failure to return the application by the deadline may result in a term's delay in your student teaching.

2. To participate in student teaching, you must have met all teacher education admission requirements, completed all required coursework leading up to student teaching, and maintained a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 (3.0 - COMD majors; 2.75 for Art Ed).

3. Each department determines where its student teachers will be placed. The Dewar College of Education has comprehensive partner school agreements with a number of schools in the following systems: Lowndes County Schools, Valdosta City Schools, Brooks County Schools, Cook County Schools, and Echols County Schools. To the extent possible, attempts are made to place as many student teachers as possible in these schools.

Other COE rules include:
Once placements are made, they will not be changed.
Students will be placed in a site appropriate for their certification area. However, students are not assured of any particular school, any particular teacher in a school, or any particular grade level--nor may students request a particular school, teacher, or grade level.
Students are not to contact individual schools, school systems, teachers, and/or administrators about student teacher placement.
If you refuse a placement once it is made, you will not be placed at another site; and your student teaching will be delayed a semester.
Once placements are made, they will be posted on the COE website (http://education.valdosta.edu/placements.htm), and you will receive a letter confirming your placement. The COE website is updated, and placement letters are mailed to students, as quickly as confirmations are received from the school systems; this process takes several weeks--be patient. Placement letters are not all mailed at the same time. Please do NOT contact the Dean's Office to ask about your student teaching placement. Keep checking the COE website.
You may not student teach in: (1) A school from which you graduated within the last seven years, (2) A school where you have family members employed or enrolled, (3) A school in which you have worked as a paraprofessional, or (4) A system in which you have family members employed in the system office in an administrative capacity or on the board of education.
You are not permitted to take undergraduate coursework (besides seminar) while student teaching.
Generally, student teachers will be placed within a 60-mile radius of VSU.
Student teaching is not allowed in the summer.
The Dewar College of Education reserves the right to refuse to place a student teacher in any particular school or within any particular school system.
Every effort is made to place student teachers in their preferred systems; however, the Dewar College of Education reserves the right to make all final decisions about student teacher placements.

If there are extenuating circumstances which affect your student teaching placement, please discuss these special needs or concerns with your department head. If these circumstances may impact your student teaching placement, a letter explaining them must be attached to your student teaching application.

4. A student teacher will be placed outside the VSU service area only under extreme extenuating circumstances. If a special placement site is needed outside the VSU service area, the student must complete a "Courtesy Placement Request" form (available in the Dean's Office) explaining this special need and requesting approval. Examples of valid reasons to request a courtesy placement include: when a spouse is unexpectedly transferred outside the VSU service area, illness in family, etc. Examples of invalid reasons to request a courtesy placement include: to save money, be near or in my hometown, marriage plans, possible job opportunities, etc. The "Courtesy Placement Request" form must be submitted for approval to the department head of the student's major department. Special placements outside the VSU service area will require additional costs to the student. Courtesy placements will be made only if appropriate in-field supervision can be obtained for the student teacher. Additionally, students request a courtesy student teaching placement must have demonstrated excellence in both their academic classes and field experiences. Generally, students with overall GPAs of less than 3.0 will not be considered for a courtesy placement.

5. All student teachers are required to have professional liability insurance. Please contact Renee Whitmer at (229) 333-5925 if you need this insurance.

6. Students with special needs must document them with the Special Services Program and inform their college supervisor and mentor teacher of those needs.

Dr. Julia M. Lee , Associate Dean and Director of Student Teaching and Certification, is located in the Dean's Office in the Dewar College of Education. If you have questions, the telephone number is (229) 333-5925.