St. Charles CUSD 303
201 South 7th Street
St. Charles, IL 60174
District 303 welcomes the opportunity to support student teachers in their journey to becoming professional educators. Our supervising teachers are experienced educators familiar with all aspects of strategies, assessment, instruction and grading. As a student teacher in District 303, there is active participation in grade level team planning as well as professional development.
District 303 works in conjunction with pre-approved accredited colleges and universities in developing appropriate student observation/teaching and/or internship placements.
Observation Request for 10 Hours or Fewer at the High School Level
Requests for observation for 10 hours or fewer may be handled directly at each building site. A prospective observer may contact the Assistant Principal for Instruction at either with a request to observe for up to 10 hours. The Assistant Principal will pass the request on to the appropriate Lead Teacher who will discuss the observation request with the teachers involved and determine the appropriate time frame.
Observation Request for 10 Hours or Fewer at the Middle School Level
Requests for observation for 10 hours or fewer may be handled directly at each building site. A prospective observer may contact the Assistant Principal for Instruction with a request to observe for up to 10 hours. The Assistant Principal will pass the request on to the appropriate Lead Teacher who will discuss the observation request with the teachers involved and determine the appropriate time frame.
Observation Request for 10 Hours or Fewer at the Elementary Level
Requests for observation for 10 hours or fewer may be handled directly at each building site. A prospective observer may contact the Building Principal with a request to observe for up to 10 hours.The Principal will pass the request on to the appropriate Teacher who will discuss the observation request with the teacher involved and determine the appropriate time frame.
Observation Requests for 10+ Hours
We are generally not able to accommodate requests for observation for more than 30 hours. Extended observation hours usually require an additional time commitment from teachers. Since this can impose upon the educational planning time of staff, we may not be able to accommodate most requests for long term observations.
Applicants must be directed by their university placement office to submit the online application and are required to upload their university letter of request, transcripts (unofficial is sufficient) and a resume in order to be considered for a placement. To be considered for a student teaching placement in one of our schools you must:
Online applications must be submitted by the deadlines listed above for student teaching placements for either semester during the following school year.
Once your application is completed and submitted, District 303 will organize all efforts between the university and placement opportunities within District 303 schools to determine a specific student teaching placement. Each applicant’s qualifications are then reviewed by school administrators and potential cooperating teachers. Requests from applicants for placement at specific schools may not be honored. A former student of District 303 cannot student teach in any of the schools they previously attended.
Successful completion of the Student Teacher Application does not guarantee placement.
Failure to upload documents will delay the application process.
After the initial application screening, student teaching applicants may be invited to interview. Interviews will take place sometime during the school year before the student teaching assignment is to occur. An offer of an interview is not a guarantee of a student teaching placement. Building administrators are consulted to ensure that the placement is appropriate. Requests will be processed based on student requirements and qualifications and the number of cooperating teachers available in content areas. When a placement request is approved or denied, both the student teacher applicant and their university will receive a formal acceptance or rejection by email from the district student teaching coordinator.
Remember:
Students who have been approved for a student teacher placement with District 303 will need to provide the following documents prior to their placement to the Human Resources Department:
Please note that all student teachers must undergo a criminal background check and physical prior to placement in District 303 schools. The Kane County Regional Office of Education performs the fingerprinting for a criminal background check. No other background check is accepted other than those done at the KCROE. The cost is $40.00. Appointments can be made at www.kaneroe.org. All results can be sent to CUSD 303 Human Resources Department located at the District 303 Administrative Center (phone 331-228-2000).
The number of student teachers accepted varies from year to year based upon the number of available cooperating teachers in the content area, program changes and other district issues.
First Priority: Northern Illinois University Students Due to a Professional Development School partnership between District 303 and Northern Illinois University’s College of Education, we are committed to taking between 10 - 15 pre-service teacher candidates who participate in a growth model progression of field experiences culminating in a year-long connected experience. We also place 20 to 25 student teachers in Early Childhood, Elementary Education, Special Education, English, Math, Science, and Social Studies per semester. These students are supervised by District faculty. The District has considerable input into the teaching requirements for these student teachers.
Second Priority: Current Educational Support Personnel/District Employees Any non-certified district employee who is majoring in education while working for the District may opt to student teach in one of our schools. During the student teacher placement, District employees must take a leave of absence for the entire semester from their current positions. Those employees who want to student teach in the district must apply no later than March 31 for a student teaching placement during the following school year.
Third Priority: Other Applicants who do not meet any of the above priority areas may be considered based on the number of available cooperating teachers.
District 303 has worked collaboratively for many years with universities to provide pre-teaching and student teaching opportunities for students majoring in education. Many students each year strive to take their first step as an educator by applying for placement as a pre-service or student teacher in the District. Student teachers generally work with one or two cooperating teachers who are members of our staff of professional educators. Many students work with the educators up to four classes for a length of time determined by their university program.
Student teachers provide the District with an abundance of fresh perspectives. Having a student teacher working with students for a semester also affords the District an opportunity to view the student teacher over an extended period of time. This extended period of time is a great indicator to see growth and development and the professional potential of the student teacher.
These procedures have been designed to provide a service for the district that ensures the following:
District 303 does not make student teaching placements with individual candidates. Please have your university or college contact the Student Teaching Coordinator, Cindy Kummet, in Human Resources by phone at 331-228-2000 or e-mail cynthia.kummet@d303.org.
