Clinical Practice Information for All Stakeholders

 

 

Absences

You are expected to report to your school site every day that there is school. You will follow the same expectations as all other school faculty and staff. All teacher candidates are allowed three “grace” days of excused absences. An excused absence means that you have contacted your cooperating teacher, college supervisor and academic coordinator beforehand to notify that you will not be attending school that day. Excused absences include job interviews, sickness, death in the family, or inability to get to school due to car issues and/or road conditions where the school is open, but you do not feel it is safe to commute. These all count as absences and must be approved by your cooperating teacher and college supervisor. Attendance at the required college seminars is not considered an absence, nor is it an absence if your school is closed, or you attend a professional development conference with your cooperating teacher, or you miss for a school-related activity (like a field trip) with your students and/or cooperating teacher.

Absences beyond three days should be reported to the Academic Clinical Practice Coordinator and the Director of Education Services as soon as possible. Teacher candidates who miss three or more instructional days at their assigned school will be subject to a review of their performance by their cooperating teacher and college supervisor that will result in one of the following: a) no further action; or b) having to make up the missed days by extending the Clinical Practice timeline; or c) termination of the Clinical Practice assignment due to poor performance. The decision regarding satisfactory performance is the shared responsibility of the college supervisor, cooperating teacher, and academic coordinator for clinical practice.

Substitute Teaching

The most frequent question that arises is whether the candidate can serve as a substitute teacher for the cooperating teacher in the placement classroom or for another teacher within the building. In the event that your own cooperating teacher is absent, you are allowed to serve as a substitute teacher in that situation if the following have occurred:

• You have been at the school site for at least two weeks.
• The student must have met all requirements of said district regarding local substitute teacher certification (students who have been a part of the NENTA program should have a local sub certificate that is eligible for any school district in ESUs 1, 2, 7, 8, and 17).
• The student agrees to serve as a substitute for the day
• Any assessment of the student performance up to that point has been generally positive
• The subbing is done within the placement classroom

Thus, it is not permitted for you to be moved from your own classroom where you have been completing your clinical practice experience to another classroom. In addition, the maximum number of days where subbing is allowed is three. Since the Spring 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for many schools to have substitute teacher coverage, this policy has been revised to allow up to 15 days of subbing as needed by the district.

Any student teacher who changes placements during the semester must complete two (2) full weeks in the new placement before being eligible to substitute. Any requested exception to the maximum days available to substitute requires prior approval from the WSC Director of Education Services.

Student teachers are not fully licensed; therefore, it is expected that the student teacher be provided with support from a certified professional within the building during a substitute teaching assignment. WSC reviews the candidate’s performance on a regular basis and reserves the right to deny or terminate a substitute teaching assignment if the student’s performance drops below our acceptable standards and expectations. The Director of Education Services will make the final decision regarding eligibility in these circumstances.

Employment During Clinical Practice

While employment during Clinical Practice is not prohibited, it is strongly advised against. You are expected to be present for all hours required of other teachers in the district and follow the district’s calendar of workdays, holidays, vacation, etc. Remember that good planning and effective preparation takes time and energy. Don’t overbook or exhaust yourself so that your performance suffers. Employment includes coaching responsibilities. Although often teachers are also coaches, it is highly encouraged for teacher candidates to refrain from coaching duties during clinical practice so that they can focus on lesson planning, grading student work, and being fully prepared each day.

Code of Ethics

The Nebraska Professional Practices Commission has established a Code of Ethics for the Teaching Profession. This Code, adopted by the Nebraska Board of Education, consists of a set of five standards for public school certificate holders in Nebraska with respect to ethical and professional conduct and are therefore declared to be the criteria of ethical and professional performance adopted pursuant to the provisions of legislative Rule 27 for holders of Nebraska public school certificates. The same high moral and personal standards as required by certified teachers by the laws of the State of Nebraska must be met by Wayne State College teacher education students. Violation of institutional and/or Board of Trustees policies or regulations can be sufficient cause for denial of retention in the teacher education program. Teacher education students must also be free from impairments such as those that would cause revocation of a teaching certificate by the State Board of Education.

All teacher candidates from Wayne State College receive the State of Nebraska Code of Ethics for the Teaching Profession pamphlet. This pamphlet is presented during orientation for Clinical Practice. If teacher candidates have not received or do not understand any part of that pamphlet, they should contact the Wayne State College Director of Education Services.

Principle I of the State of Nebraska Code of Ethics for the Teaching Profession deals with the individual’s commitment as a professional educator. The opening paragraph reads:

“Fundamental to the pursuit of high educational standards is the maintenance of a profession possessed of individuals with high skills, intellect, integrity, wisdom, and compassion. The educator shall exhibit good moral character, maintain high standards of performance, and promote equality of opportunity.”

With this is mind, the following Student Code of Ethics for the Wayne State College School of education and behavioral sciences was developed. It is the expectation of the faculty that teacher candidates will uphold this code throughout their Clinical Practice experience.

We, the students of the School of education and behavioral sciences, affirm and accept our responsibility to complete our professional preparation according to the highest ethical standards. We will exert every effort to raise educational standards, to improve our service, and to achieve conditions which attract persons worthy of trust. Aware of the value of united effort, we will contribute actively to the development and growth of our intellectual and moral capacities. In fulfilling these obligations to the profession, we:

1. recognize that a profession must accept responsibility for the conduct of its members;
2. understand that our own conduct may be regarded as representative of the profession;
3. participate in the development and implementation of policies affecting our education;
4. accord just and equitable treatment to all members of the profession in the exercise of their professional rights and responsibilities;
5. interpret and use research with intellectual honesty;
6. keep the trust under which confidential information is exchanged;
7. refrain from commenting unprofessionally about a pupil, fellow student, teacher, or associate in an academic situation; and
8. respect the rules and regulations of the schools as agencies to which we are assigned for field experience purposes.

 

Removal of a Candidate from Clinical Practice

 

A candidate may be removed from Clinical Practice or possibly the Teacher Education Program for failure to exhibit sufficient knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Possible reasons for removal from Clinical Practice include, but are not limited to:

1. A principal or superintendent has the right to request immediate termination of the candidate’s placement if the candidate is judged harmful or detrimental to the welfare of educational experiences of students and/or faculty. This includes, but not limited to, unprofessional behavior or violating school policy. In this situation, there is no option for an improvement plan. This could result in removal from the Teacher Education Program.
2. A principal, cooperating teacher and/or college supervisor may request removal from clinical practice for reasons such as lack of collaboration, lack of cooperation, failure to create lesson plans in a timely manner, poor quality lesson plans, continuous ineffective teaching, not making sufficient progress, attendance/ tardiness or lack of professionalism.

Normal steps in the removal clinical practice process:

1. Stakeholder(s) (cooperating teacher, college supervisor, or administrator) notifies the Academic Coordinator or the Director of Education Services about concerns that may warrant removal from clinical practice placement.
2. A meeting will be held to discuss the removal of the candidate from the clinical practice placement. The cooperating teacher(s), college supervisor(s), Academic Coordinator, and/or Director of Education and Counseling may be in attendance. A Removal from Clinical Practice Form (located in Form Section) will be completed, and a copy will be given to the candidate once all signatures are collected.
3. The Academic Coordinator will notify the candidate, by phone and in writing, and provide specific reasons for the removal along with the appeal process. See Appeal Process below.

Voluntary Removal from Clinical Practice
A candidate may remove themselves from Clinical Practice due to extenuating circumstances beyond the candidate’s control. The candidate may apply to complete Clinical Practice within two years. Candidates may also apply for a non-certified degree if all coursework outside of clinical practice has been completed. See withdrawal policy in the WSC General Catalog.

Applying to Return to Clinical Practice After Removal
If the candidate completed an educational studies or interdisciplinary degree without Clinical Practice and wants to return to complete Clinical Practice within one year, they will have to reapply for Clinical Practice and seek approval by the Professional Progress Committee (PPC).

Certification and course requirements change on a regular basis. The candidate will work with the Director of Education Services and the Registrar to review past coursework to determine a new plan of study.

• If more than one year has passed, the candidate must reapply to WSC and possibly Teacher Education. They will be put on the current catalog which may require the candidate to retake coursework and/or take additional coursework.
• If five years or more have passed, the candidate must reapply to WSC and the Teacher Education program. Candidate will be required to retake and take additional coursework that will include a practicum.

Process of Appeal Following Removal from Clinical Practice
A candidate who has been removed from clinical practice may request an appeal within 5 calendar days. The appeal must be submitted in writing to the Director of Education Services. The Director will forward the appeal to the PPC for a recommendation.

The PPC shall meet upon receiving an appeal. The candidate will be notified of the PPC meeting time and location and will have the opportunity to appear before the PPC prior to a recommendation being made.

The PPC shall take into consideration the nature and circumstances that contributed to the removal from clinical practice and other issues that may contribute to the candidate’s potential success as a teacher. The PPC will make a recommendation to the Dean within 7 working days of appeal receipt. The PPC may recommend to the Dean any of the following options:

1. Approval of appeal without conditions
2. Approval of appeal with conditions
3. Denial of the appeal
4. Recommendation of Removal from Teacher Education Program

The PPC could make recommendations regarding replacement location and the timeline for completion of the Clinical Practice experience. Some circumstances may allow for a new placement within the same semester as removal; however, others may warrant a placement in the following semester. If a student is removed from the Teacher Education Program, there will no further opportunities for clinical practice.

The Dean, in consultation with the Director of Education Services and the Academic Coordinator, shall consider the recommendations from the PPC and make the final decision.

The candidate will be informed in writing of the Dean’s decision. If the appeal is granted, with or without conditions, the candidate may have to reapply for Clinical Practice placement. If the decision includes conditions, the letter to the candidate will include a detailed explanation of what will be required to continue in Teacher Education.

If the candidate is not satisfied with the decision made by the Dean, the candidate has the right to appeal to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA).

If the candidate is a member of the Student Education Association of Nebraska, the candidate may wish to contact the NEA for assistance.

Removal of a Candidate from Teacher Education

Students or candidates may be removed from the Teacher Education program at any level. Any PPC referral could result in removal from the Teacher Education program.

Normal steps in the removal from Teacher Education process:

1. PPC receives referral about concerns that may warrant a removal from the program.
2. PPC will utilize the appropriate actions necessary to determine if removal is needed. This will most likely include several of the actions listed in the PPC Referral Process section of this handbook. The student will always be given the opportunity to meet with the PPC prior to a removal recommendation. The PPC Student Meeting Results form will provide documentation of the student meeting.
3. If the removal recommendation is approved by the Dean of Education and Behavioral Sciences, the Director of Education Services will notify the candidate in writing and provide information about the appeal process.

Process of Appeal Following Removal from Teacher Education
Candidates who have been removed from the teacher education program may appeal in writing to the Vice President of Academic Affairs (VPAA). The written appeal must be submitted within ten (10) calendar days of receiving notice of the decision. The appeal should be directed to and delivered to the VPAA via hand-delivery, by email, or by first class mail. The VPAA will meet with the student within ten (10) calendar days of receipt of a request for an appeal. Within three (3) calendar days of this meeting, the decision will be reported in writing to the student by email or first-class mail.  

If the candidate is a member of the Student Education Association of Nebraska, the candidate may wish to contact the NSEA for assistance.