Pre-Service Program

Pre-Service consists of Field Experience, Practicum and Student Teaching Placements in our St. Paul Public Schools

Pre-Service Teaching in SPPS

The SPPS Strong Schools, Strong Communities Strategic Plan outlines clear expectations regarding improving academic achievement and closing the racial disparity gap for students. SPPS partners with institutions of higher education (IHEs) to establish and support a new paradigm for teaching and learning centered on improved teacher effectiveness to close the opportunity gap. In SPPS we adhere to cluster sites and use co-teaching as our model of instruction for pre-service training.

Cluster sites are where practicum and student teacher candidates complete their experience using a co-teaching for student teaching, criteria for cooperating teachers and year-long placements for some licensures. A list of cluster sites are below. To support this work, deep partnerships with schools and higher education institutions are needed.

All student teaching assignments should be approved by cluster sites. When needed, an out of cluster site request should be sent to mary.yang@spps.org. Background checks are required for all types of placements in Saint Paul Public Schools. All placements must be recorded in the IHE Master Tracker.

SPPS Pre-Service Program Resources

Co-Teaching in SPPS

CO-Teaching in SPPS

Co-teaching is defined as two teachers (cooperating teacher and student teacher candidate) working together with groups of students, sharing the planning, organization, delivery and assessment of instruction. Research indicates that co-teaching partnerships increase academic achievement for all students. Cooperating teachers and student teacher candidates are encouraged to participate in two co-teaching professional development trainings:

Foundations Training - provides the philosophy and strategies for co-teaching.
Pairs Training - provides the cooperating teacher and student teacher candidate with tools for how they will successfully work together to support the learning of all students.

Online Foundations and Pairs Training Options:
SPPS is excited to partner with the University of Minnesotas's Teacher Education Redesign Initiative (TERI) to offer online Foundations and Pairs training to cooperating teachers and teacher candidates placed in SPPS. We highly encourage Cooperating Teachers and Student Teachers to take part in these trainings but they are not required as each Institute of Higher Education do implement their own Co-teaching courses but this is a supplemental resource that we are sharing with all. The Foundations training can be completed together or separately. The online pairs training, however, must be completed by the cooperating teacher and the teacher candidate (together).

To complete the online training(s), please click on the Foundations Workshop via University of Minnesota's Public Google Drive: Foundations Training and/or Pairs Training.

SPPS Hiring Process for Student Teachers

Process and Procedure

Process and Procedure

Student teachers may be recommended for employment in SPPS by their Cooperating Teacher AND Administrator of their placement building:
- Completion of the Google Form Feedback/Recommendation from the Cooperating Teacher
- Completion of the Google Form Feedback/Recommendation from the building Administrator
  - Google Form Feedback/Recommendation links will be provided prior to the end of the student's placement period

Student teachers interested in a career with SPPS can apply to their licensed pools via the Careers page, prospective employees portal:
- https://www.spps.org/about/careers

These licensed areas will be looked at according to high priority license areas need to be filled for that school year or upcoming school year
- Details of which license areas are high priority will be relayed via email to Student Teachers/Cooperating Teachers/Administrators/IHE Coordinators

Contact

SPPS Pre-Service Program Coordinator