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Clinical Practice II / Student Teaching Application

Two Steps to Apply for Spring 2025 CP2 Student Teaching

1. Submit a Spring 2025 Clinical Practice II, Student Teaching Application
(Applications were due September 22, 2024, end of day.  If you still need to submit an application, you must email STEP@tcnj.edu.)

  • If you need to make a change to your application (location, selected wrong program, etc.) and you have already submitted your application, email step@tcnj.edu as soon as possible.
    DO NOT SUBMIT A SECOND APPLICATION.
  • If there are special circumstances you’d like to make us aware of, note that in the appropriate section of the application.

2. Submit Initial Clearances for Student Teaching (due September 22, 2024)

 

What happens after I submit my application AND clearances?

  • The STEP Office will contact districts to request specific placements (TCNJ students are NOT permitted to contact the district directly, unless they are told to do so).
  • Students will be placed within 35 miles of TCNJ campus, unless they have been approved by their program coordinator to student teach closer to their permanent residence.
  • Each district has its own process for securing and approval placements.  Some districts prefer to handle the process and required clearances directly with student teachers, while others do not allow contact until all clearances are in and placements are board-approved.  The STEP Office will let you know if the district wants to communicate with you directly.
  • Although it may seem like a simple process, there are MANY details and steps that get taken care of at the pace of the district.  As a result, the STEP Office cannot provide a concrete timeline for when placements will be approved.  Staying on top of your TCNJ emails and responding to any emails from STEP is incredibly important to keep the approval process moving, especially when they provide directions for additional clearances that are needed.
  • After your placement is secured within the district, the STEP Office will notify you, along with any additional needs or information that needs to be communicated.
  • Every student teacher will receive a placement.
  • Our goal is to secure placements as quickly as possible.  When students email the STEP Office unnecessarily, we have to take time away from securing your placements to respond to all of the emails.  Therefore, please follow the emailing guidelines below.
    • Spring 2025 CII Student Teaching Emailing Guidelines:
      • Emailing to check if we’ve received your application and/or initial clearances: Please wait until after October 8, 2024 to do so.  We’re aiming to reach out to Spring 2025 student teachers by 10/8/24 to let them know that either we’ve received everything we currently need or we’re missing something from you.
      • Emailing to ask when you’ll receive your school building or cooperating teacher: Please wait until after January 8, 2024 to do so. Often, districts do not allow us to release that information until certain things are approved within the district.
      • Emailing to ask if there are any updates on your placement: Please do not do this. Securing placements is not an overnight process, and most districts have different process requirements, steps, and timelines.  We have to work at the specific district’s pace.  As soon as we have updates on your placement, we will email you and let you know.

Receiving Coop & Placement Details

Most districts require students to wait for the official board of education approval before reaching out to their cooperating teacher.  

Once you’re fully approved and you have received your placement and cooperating teacher details:

  • Email your cooperating teacher and principal to introduce yourself.  Information not provided by the STEP office (i.e. other contact information, building location, grade level, etc.) can usually be found online.
  • All student teachers are required to participate in any district-wide or school-wide training once their student teaching semester begins.
  • Once student teaching begins, Clinical II students follow the school district schedule (not TCNJ’s) for holiday and days off.  While the STEP Office may give a blanket start and end date for the placement for approval purposes, your actual start/end date may differ, depending on the school district’s calendar and schedule and if there are any missing clearance documents.

Important Notes

Multiple, full semester placements (i.e. ECE-SPED, ECE-DFHH, and DFHH programs)

Students needing to complete multiple full semester placements (in more than one area), must complete an application for each placement separately. For example, students in the ECE-SPED, ECE-DFHH, and DFHH programs will complete an application for each semester they will need a full time placement. Typically, ECE-SPED/DFHH students will complete their ECE application for the spring semester, and their SPED/DFHH application for the fall. DFHH students will follow these same application procedures when applying for their ELEM and DFHH placements.

Grade Point Average Requirement

Admission to the student teaching program requires a 2.75 GPA for undergraduates and 3.00 GPA for graduate students.  There are no exceptions to this policy.  Students must have a 3.0 Cumulative GPA to be recommended by TCNJ for graduation.

Praxis Results

All student teachers and internship II graduates must take/attempt, but are not required to pass, the Praxis test in their major prior to participating in their Clinical II experience.  The results are to be reported to the department coordinators (not the STEP Office). 

List of CPII Student Teaching Program Coordinators

Your student teaching program coordinator is the person assigned by your department to oversee the successful placement of students in their capstone experience. They also assign and oversee the clinical supervisors who will work with you throughout the semester. Click this CP2 Student Teaching Program Coordinators  list for the most up to date list of the coordinators for your program of study.

Substitute Policy during CPII Student Teaching

Students who have a NJ Substitute Teacher Certification may be asked by their placement district to substitute during their Clinical II semester. Students may serve as substitute teachers in their assigned classroom school if they have the permission of their field supervisor and cooperating teacher. Students may only substitute in their assigned classroom and must notify their supervisor each day that they are serving as a substitute.  They may not substitute more than eight school days during the semester. The student should be compensated by the district at the regular district pay rate for substitutes. Field supervisors and cooperating teachers may rescind their approval to substitute at any time if they feel it is interfering with the student’s professional growth or negatively impact the overall experience.

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