Office of Professional Laboratory Experiences

P.O. Box 14

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, TN 37132

TO:                   Teacher Education Candidates

FROM:              Tammie Brown, Ed.D.

                        Interim Director, Office of Professional Laboratory Experiences

SUBJECT:        Prerequisites for student teaching

Admission to Teacher Education is a prerequisite to enrollment in upper-division courses in ELED, READ, and SPED (except SPED 3010), FOED, or YOED.  The Student teaching office will accept applications for student teaching only from those candidates who have been formally admitted to teacher education.  Students must make application to student teaching during the first month of the semester prior to the semester in which they plan to student teach.

Student teaching at MTSU is a full-time, entire semester long activity that takes place in the final semester of the senior year.  Student teaching is the culminating experience, conducted in fall and spring semesters; there is no student teaching in the summer.  By special arrangement with an international consortium of colleges and universities, student teaching placements may be obtained in other countries.  Applications for foreign placement must be received a year prior to the student teaching semester. Some other options that are available for student teaching are the Department of Defense Schools, and Native American Schools in the U.S. IMPORTANT:  According to policy, students or representatives of students do not have authority to contact individual schools, teachers, or administrators to request personal placement and/or student teaching arrangements or changes.  Other than the one special arrangement in other countries, students admitted into the Teacher Education Program at MTSU understand that they have committed to student teach in the MTSU service area. Your signature on the student teaching application acknowledges your understanding of the process, procedures, and violation of this policy will render you ineligible to remain in the teacher education program at MTSU. 

Prerequisites to student teaching are:

1.                    Admission to the teacher education program.  Applications will be returned to those students who apply to student teach but have not been admitted to the teacher education program by the student teaching application deadline.  Student teaching for these students will be delayed by a semester.  The ATE card is to be used as verification of your admission.  The date listed on your card is your official ATE date.  You will refer to this date throughout your teaching career. 

2.                    Senior, graduate, or post baccalaureate classification.

3.                    An overall GPA of at least 2.50.

4.                    A GPA of a least 2.50 in the teaching major.  Included in the computation are grades assigned in all courses attempted in departments contributing to the teaching major.  Grades earned in basic or developmental courses are not used in computing the average required.

5.                    Completion of all professional education courses with a grade of “C” or better.

6.                    A negative tuberculin test.

7.                    Favorable evaluation of performance in required field and laboratory experiences.

8.                    Disclosure of convicted offenses other than minor traffic violations.

9.                    Commitment to student teach in the MTSU service area.

Permanent deadlines for student teaching applications are:

September 30 for the following Spring semester

January 30 for the following Fall Semester