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The second event, attended by approximately 100 superintendents, principals, human resources officials, and teachers, is the day-long meeting of the Professional Advisory Council. The College of Education hosts district administrators at least once a year for a full day of presentations and sharing on issues of district employment needs, curriculum, professional development, and preparation of Grand Valley candidates. At each event the unit solicits suggestions from administrators, implements them where feasible, and reports back the next time the group meets.
Collaboration with School Partners for Placement
The most important bridge between the university curriculum and the world of practice is the candidate's field and clinical experience. The College of Education maintains formal Placement Agreements with 133 districts in the state which outline the responsibility of the university, the candidate, and the host school. The College Field Placement Office in the Student and Information Services Center arranges placements for Initial candidates. The director and four full-time placement coordinators all have past experience as teachers and school administrators. Each coordinator regularly oversees the same placement category, e.g., elementary or secondary, and thus becomes familiar with individual candidates and placement sites throughout the process.
The Initial placement process begins when the Placement Office asks school administrators for teachers interested in supervising a candidate for field or clinical practice. Placement Coordinators match candidates with schools after determining candidate eligibility, teacher qualifications and credentials, and placement suitability. Determining placement suitability involves not only the teacher, subject area and grade level, but also the location, student diversity of the site, and other requirements which must be met during at least one of the two semester-long placements. Only after the candidate submits a professional resume to the prospective site and is interviewed by the principal and/or teacher does the placement become final. (See Placement Process).
For Advanced teacher candidates typically, the university supervisor, candidate and school mentor determine the placement site together. In many cases the practicum occurs in the candidate's own building or district during the regular school day. Several other placement opportunities such as camps and clinics are also available later in the day and during the summer. For Advanced programs preparing other school personnel, typical practicum sites include administrative settings, school library media centers, and school counseling centers. These too are jointly decided by candidate, supervisor, and administrator.
School Faculty Qualifications
Experience and credentials of school faculty are primary in selecting cooperating teachers and mentors for candidates. Unit policy requires school faculty to have at least three years of K-12 teaching experience, licensure in the appropriate grade level and subject area, recommendation from the building principal, and demonstrated success in teaching children and youth. Exceptions to this policy are rare and are most often due to teacher shortages in certain subject areas where the teacher is certified but teaching a particular subject with special approval, e.g., physics. The following chart shows qualifications of over 900 school faculty working with our candidates during the past two years. It shows that most school faculty have master's degrees or higher, have taught for more than 10 years, and are fully licensed in the subject area they supervise. (For complete details, refer to faculty records in the on-site exhibit room.)
| School Faculty Qualifications |
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