Policies and Procedures

• The Professional Internship Application should be submitted during the Advanced Standing application process, at the end of sophomore year, or before the beginning of junior year.
• If a teacher candidate does not meet the established requirements for the professional internship experience, the Professional Internship Coordinator reserves the right to move the application to another semester.
• A teacher candidate may choose to complete the professional internship experience through any Ohio University campuses, provided the opportunity is available. (Athens, Chillicothe, Eastern, Lancaster, Southern, or Zanesville). Teacher candidates interested in a regional campus internship must notify the academic advisor or the Professional Internship Coordinator.
• Professional interns will not be assigned to teach during a semester in which they are expected or required to take additional coursework. Because The Patton College believes that the best interest of the professional intern is served when the first professional role is based on individual performance, an intern will not be assigned to a school they have previously attended as a student; will not be assigned to a school where there are students, teachers, or other school personnel who are relatives or close personal friends of the intern or intern’s family; or will not be assigned to school districts in which the intern is employed.

Special Requests for Professional Internships

• Any teacher candidate who plans to participate in a professional internship and wants to go out-of-area for the experience must submit a petition to The Patton College Credential Review and Candidate Progress Board (CRB). See the Patton College of Education forms webpage for the appropriate form.
• Out-of-Area approvals will be permitted for extenuating circumstances only with the final decision determined by the Credential Review and Candidate Progress Board (CRB).
• To be considered for an out-of-area assignment, teacher candidates must have an overall GPA of 3.0 and a GPA of 3.5 or higher in his or her major.
• Any teacher candidate who is interested in participating in an urban experience may apply to the Teach Cleveland and/or Teach Cincinnati program by contacting Marcy Keifer Kennedy, the Director of the OHIO Center for Clinical Practice in Education.
• Any teacher candidate completing their professional internship experience out of the area will be charged an additional $300 fee to their account. This fee covers additional administrative processing.
• If a teacher candidate is approved for an out-of-area placement, the following parameters for supervision must be met:
  • The qualified mentor teacher must have a minimum of 3 years of classroom teaching experience under the standard Ohio licensure/certification.
  • The University Clinical Educator must hold a master’s degree in education or related field, must be approved by the OHIO Center for Clinical Practice in Education, and be willing to comply with the charges outlined in the University Agreement of Services.

Professional Internship Symposium

• One semester before the beginning of the professional internship year, teacher candidates who have submitted their Professional Internship Application by the mandated due date will be required to attend the Professional Internship Symposium.
• Topics to be addressed at the symposium include the professional Internship requirements, an overview of the required commitment to the professional internship experience, BCI/FBI mandates, fees associated with the professional internship experience, and dispositional expectations.
• Candidates will be instructed on procedures for starting the Professional Internship ePortfolio. The Professional Internship ePortfolio, a requirement for securing an intern’s placement in a clinical setting, serves as the primary tool for introducing teacher candidates to potential mentor teachers.
• A teacher candidate’s request for internship placement is considered after assessing eligibility by reviewing the DARS. If a teacher candidate does not meet all requirements, they will receive an e-mail of the placement status and deficiencies per the academic advisor’s findings.

Professional Internship Placement Process

• The placement process commences once it has been determined that a teacher candidate has met all the requirements for a professional internship.
• Placements are made by mutual consent of Ohio University and the school districts/programs and based on available supervision. Teacher candidates are not permitted to secure their own placements.
• Teacher candidates will be notified via email of internship placements

Professional Internship Orientation Meeting

• Professional interns must attend an orientation meeting at the beginning of the professional internship semester. The schedules and locations vary from campus to campus.
• The purpose of the orientation meeting is for the interns to learn about the policies and procedures pertinent to the professional internship experience, and meet their university.
• Clinical educators with whom they will be working during the semester, and to be introduced to the EDPL 4650/5650 syllabus.

Housing and Transportation

• All teacher candidates completing clinical experiences are responsible for their own housing and transportation to and from their placement schools.
• Professional interns (II)who drive more than 30 miles to reach their placement schools qualify for a one-time $50 travel award to ease the cost associated with travel. Professional interns (II) who drive more than 40 miles to reach their placement schools qualify for a one-time $150 travel award. The distance is calculated by MapQuest from Patton Hall to the placement school for Athens campus interns. For regional campus students, the distance is calculated by MapQuest from the intern’s home to the placement school.

BCI/FBI Report Policy and School Identification

• All teacher candidates and interns must secure Ohio BCI and FBI reports before starting any clinical experiences in any partnering schools. For those undergraduate students on the Athens campus, these can be obtained at the Bobcat Depot, located on the 1st floor of Baker Center. BCI/FBI checks need to be mailed directly from the fingerprinting agency to “The Patton College of Education Student Affairs, Patton Hall, Suite 103, Attn: Debra Fanning”. Graduate students should have their reports sent to The Patton College of Education Student Affairs, Patton Hall, Suite 103, Attn: Ramona Mott. Candidates will be notified of receipt of the reports, and then instructed to pick up their copies to keep for their own records. Any candidate who does not have a current BCI/FBI report, or who has an expired report, will not be permitted to meet online with students or enter partnering schools to complete clinical experiences.
• Interns must wear an Ohio University Student Identification badge whenever visiting or working in a placement school. The first identification badge is free. The price of replacement badges will vary from $5 to $12.

Lesson Plan Procedure

• For professional internship experiences, daily lesson plans are required and must be submitted to the mentor teacher for review promptly before being implemented in the classroom. Interns are expected to submit daily lesson plans via the online assignment portal. Before the university clinical educator’s observations, the intern must present a detailed lesson plan. A lesson plan submitted after the observation is moot, with credit not given.

Yearlong Professional Interns during Professional Internship (I)

• Professional Interns during Professional Internship (I) Professional intern one candidate are required to meet a minimum number of hours (150) face-to-face in their placement schools. It is the responsibility of the teacher candidate to set up a schedule with the mentor teacher and university clinical educator. In the event of an absence, the teacher candidate/professional intern (1) will consult with the mentor teacher and UCE about making up any/all hours missed.

Professional Internship (II) Experiences

• Professional interns are expected to be in the school/program on time each day the placement school is in session, including professional development days, and are not permitted to leave the site for any reason unless prior approval is granted by the mentor teacher and the OHIO University Clinical Educator. Professional interns are allowed two excused absences, as defined by the OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog.
• Excused absences include:
  • Illness
  • Death in the immediate family
  • Religious observance (planned with mentor teacher and University Clinical Educator at least two weeks in advance)
  • Jury duty
  • Involvement in university-sponsored activities (departmental trip, music or debate activity, ROTC function, or athletic competition)
• If a professional intern has more than two excused absences, they will be allowed to make up for the time missed. If the time missed from the classroom is not made up, the intern’s grade for EDPL 4650/5650 will be affected with a 5-point-a-day penalty. (Unexcused absences cannot be made up and will automatically incur the 5-point-a-day penalty. Professional Absences The Patton College of Education recognizes the value of a student’s professional development by participation in activities outside the structure of the classroom, Therefore, professional interns are also permitted two excused days for professional absence reasons. These absences must be planned at least two weeks in advance with the mentor teacher and University Clinical Educator. Professional absences include:
  • Presenting (by invitation) at an educational convention/event
  • Attending the Teacher Recruitment Consortium (Spring Semester)
  • Interviewing for professional employment that cannot be scheduled outside of the school day
• All professional absences require written verification of participation. Any time missed that exceeds the “two excused” rule must be made up. Not completing the required time will be reflected in the intern’s final grade for EDPL 4650/5650.

Optional Starting Dates for Full-time Professional Interns

• The first mandated day of attendance for all full-time professional interns is the first day of OHIO’s semester. However, should interns decide to report to their placement sites before that mandated date, they may use those days as “banked” days. The banked days must be documented and initialed by the mentor teacher and the university clinical educator. The banked days are for emergencies only and can be used to make up excused absences only. Missing a day of full-time internship to take an OAE is an unexcused absence. Using “banked” days to take an OAE is not an option. Missing a day of internship to take an OAE will result in a 5- 5-point a-day penalty for each day missed.

edTPA Workday

• All professional interns are permitted ONE WORKDAY to complete asks for the edTPA submission. This counts as an EXCUSED ABSENCE but is NOT factored in as one of the four excused absences. This day MUST be planned at least two weeks in advance with the mentor teacher AND University Clinical Educator and does not need to be made up in the classroom.

Procedures During Work Stoppages/Strikes in Public Schools

• The state-assisted universities in Ohio have developed the following policy, believing that in no case should the complete neutrality of an intern be violated during school disruptions and that no intern be exploited or subject to possible physical harm during such periods:
  • “The Professional Intern in Teaching will not report for duty or be in or near the building of their assignment, nor any other school district facility, when strikes, study days, or work stoppages occur.”

Procedures During Inclement Weather

• If the school district/program is closed due to poor weather conditions, teacher candidates and interns should not report to the school sites.
• It is the responsibility of the teacher candidate/ intern to check local broadcast stations/websites that regularly announce school closings and delays.

• Clinical experience assignments are created with thoughtful consideration and planning. On rare occasions, a particular placement may not be a successful fit for a teacher candidate, mentor teacher, intern, or P-12 students. In cases where there is sufficient evidence that the intern is not meeting the challenges of the experience, a disposition statement should be submitted for examination by the Credential Review and Candidate Progress Board. If all stakeholders agree, the evidence is substantiated, and the presence of the intern is disruptive to the learning processes of the students, a change or termination of the assignment may ensue.

Change of Assignment

• Though it is rare, an intern could be relocated once the semester begins. This can happen for a variety of reasons. A mentor teacher’s schedule may change, illness may occur, or placement may be deemed inappropriate. If it is determined by the OHIO Center for Clinical Practice in Education, in collaboration with the university clinical educator, the mentor teacher, and the school/program administrator that an intern should be relocated, it will be coordinated through the OHIO Center for Clinical Practice in Education. In cases where there is significant evidence that a different classroom situation might provide an improved performance by the intern, a change to another site may be made by the Professional Internship Coordinator.

Determination of Assessment

• A professional internship assignment may be terminated at any time if it is determined jointly by the university clinical educator, mentor teacher, and or school/program administrator, along with the Professional Internship Coordinator and the CRB chair that, the continued presence of the intern is disruptive to the learning processes of the students or is, in fact, nonproductive for the intern. In cases where there is sufficient evidence that the intern is not meeting the challenges of the experience, a failing grade may be recorded for the semester. The intern will be notified in writing of this finding and will be expected to appear before the Credential Review and Candidate Progress Board. A plan for intervention and guidance may be instituted, should the intern decide to register for another full semester of professional internship in the future. Likewise, if an intern is charged with, or under investigation for the commission of a felony or a misdemeanor, that intern may be removed from their professional internship assignment until the charge is cleared.

Licensure

• Procedures and questions related to Ohio licensure will be explained in full detail during one of the four large group seminars planned for each semester.

Professional Internship Fees

• $300 fee upon registration for EDPL4650/5650 Professional Internship in Teaching Seminar. This fee is for the national scoring of the edTPA.
• Regional campus candidates pay Athens tuition and fees for all EDPL Professional Internship courses, except pre-primary internships