Several options are available for student teaching, which is the capstone experience for each licensure certificate program.
Students wishing to obtain a K-12 Minnesota special education teaching license in Developmental Disabilities (DD), Learning Disabilities (LD), or Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD) will complete one of the following:
Graduate students who do not have a teaching license and who do not have at least one year of contractual teaching experience will student teach for a semester. They will teach in their licensure area in an elementary setting and a secondary setting.
Apply in the Department of Special Education by:
Apply online in the Office of Clinical Experiences two semesters prior to placement.
Graduate students with at least one teaching license and at least one year of contractual teaching experience are eligible for an abbreviated summer practicum of 120 hours. Students pursuing Learning Disabilities licensure will complete the methods and practicum in a summer block; methods will be held on weekends during intersession and the 120-hour half-day practicum will be held over a week-week period at the Reading and Math Camp in the Sauk Rapids-Rice School District.
Developmental Disabilities and Emotional and Behavioral Disorder summer placements will be made in school programs located as close to your place of residence as possible, though this is dependent upon program availability.
Apply in the Department of Special Education by March 1 or by the time indicated in the letter you will receive from the Department of Special Education in early February.
There is a two-part application through the Department of Special Education. Applicants must:
Procedures are discussed in detail during the fall and spring methods classes.
Graduate students who have at least one special education teaching license and who are working on a variance in the licensure are they are pursuing may wish to document teaching competencies instead of completing the summer practicum.
Documentation of Minnesota Board of teaching standards may be completed during the fall or spring semester.
Application Dates:
Students wishing to apply for SPED Practicum Competency Documentation must meet the following criteria:
Students can apply online two semesters prior to placement through the Office of Clinical Experiences.
Students may also do a portion of their student teaching during fall or spring semester via the Common Market, which allows them to do one of their student teaching experiences at another Minnesota State Colleges and Universities four-year institution.
Students also have the option of teaching in another state or country.
To be eligible for an alternate student teaching site students must have:
Students are ineligible to student teach at an alternative site if they have:
To apply for an alternate site:
Students should follow the application procedures of all the entities involved in the alternate site student teaching experience. Depending upon the destination, students will work through:
Students are bound by all St Cloud State University policies, which are described in handbooks and on websites that pertain to student teaching and alternate site student teaching.
Students must obtain appropriate application materials from St. Cloud State University’s Office of Clinical Experience, the Special Education Department office or the Center of International Studies
Students must provide a letter of interest that addresses: