Student Teacher Observer Intern Placement

Student Teaching & Internship Placement Procedures

Prospective Student Teachers and Interns must work with their Educational Institution to obtain a placement at RLAS District 116. Please do not contact Principals or Staff directly, in efforts to obtain placement.

Where to send your request to?

All requests for placement must be in writing and sent to the District’s Human Resources Department by the student’s educational institution.

Requests should be directed to Round Lake Area Schools Human Resources Department. 

Requests received at the building level will need to be referred to the Human Resources Department and will need to follow the appropriate process outlined below. Staff cannot agree to any placement themselves. This ensures that the student has met the university and District eligibility requirements for the placement(s) requested.

Please allow 5 business days for a response to any observation placement request, and 10 business days for a response to any student teacher or internship placement request.

For more information on Student Teaching, Observation, or Internship placements, please contact the HR Department.

Request Requirements:

All students seeking placement in our District must be enrolled in a State Board of Education approved college/university education program.

The college/university must have a current contract on file with Round Lake Area Schools District 116 prior to submitting a request for placement.

The written requests from the college/university should contain the following information:

• A letter of request from a college/university placement coordinator containing information regarding the placement requested, such as the name of the student, type of placement (e.g. observation, practicum, student teaching, internship, etc.), number of hours/days required for the placement, specific start and end dates (not semesters) for the placement, grade level and/or subject area, etc.
• Student's resume
• Student's transcripts (for student teaching only)
• Confirmation forms to be returned to the college/university to finalize placement
• Any other items required by the college/university

APPLICATION DEADLINES

Spring  Placements	Fall Placements
We will accept requests for Spring placements from September 15th to November 1st.	We will accept requests for Fall placements from March 15th to May 1st.

• Observation Requests: At least 15 business days prior to the due date of your observation assignment for student observer placements
• Please allow 5 business days for a response to any observation placement request, and 10 business days for a response to any student teacher or internship placement request.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

The placement application materials will be shared with building administrators and the potential cooperating teacher. Interviews with candidates may be conducted by the building administrator and/or the potential cooperating teacher.

Upon agreement between the Human Resources Department, building administrator, and cooperating teacher, the Human Resources Department will confirm (or deny) the placement request directly with the university placement official.

Student teachers who are accepted into the program must have the following on file with the Human Resources Department prior to beginning their student teaching:

• A fingerprint background check completed at the Round Lake Area Schools district office.
• A physical exam performed by a licensed health care provider stating that the individual is healthy and free of communicable disease.
• Verification of viewing the mandatory online training tutorials through GCN (Global Compliance Network).
• Completion of District required forms.

Reasonable effort will be made to equalize the distribution of student teachers within the District, and across the spectrum of submitting colleges/universities.

Placements will be done based on the following criteria: availability of qualified staff/teacher(s) in requested areas, willingness of schools to take a student, and outcome of student interview between principal, student, and cooperating teacher. The District will make every effort to place students at their requested location or with the requested teacher/principal. However, if the request cannot be met, we will forward the request to all remaining schools that are accepting student teachers in the subject/level, unless requested otherwise.

Cooperating Teacher Responsibilities:

Teachers willing to serve as a Cooperating Teacher or Site Supervisor shall:

• Possess a minimum of a baccalaureate degree and have attained tenure.
• Must be an exemplary model for the profession and demonstrate the ability and willingness to share their talent and experience.
• Must demonstrate the ability to make evaluative judgement and provide meaningful feedback on instruction and assessment practices.
• The cooperating teacher will be responsible for the class and will not delegate instructional responsibilities until the student teacher has displayed the proficiency to accept them.
• Student teachers will not be placed in settings in which personal relationships or previous experience could interfere with objective evaluation of the student teacher.
• Acceptance of a student will be voluntary.
• A cooperating teacher will not be assigned more than one student teacher per school year.

INTERNAL EMPLOYEES SEEKING PLACEMENT:

If you are currently employed at our District and are looking for a placement within the District, please log in to the intranet to review the internal employee process.