Rev 11/01/2017

Teacher Candidate Support Policy

Candidate Support Policy Description:

Teaching is a demanding profession. It requires a complex set of skills, knowledge, and dispositions. People come to the profession from all walks of life. While many people have the desire to become a teacher, some are ready before others. Given this, it is important for us to have a process in place that helps support candidates who are ready to go into the teaching field as well as those who may need to choose another path. This may mean delaying certification until after completing a bachelors program or perhaps choosing another path entirely. Our role as EDS faculty is not to determine this for teacher candidates, but to ensure that we have a process in place that is fair and supportive.

Process:

There will be a Teacher Candidate Support Team (TCST) comprised of no less than two individuals, assembled to address and follow-through on all issues whether they are initiated by an instructor, student, or advisor. What follows is the process the EDS Department has put into place should an issue be initiated.

Should a teacher candidate wish to initiate a concern/issue due to an appeal or complaint they would like to make, they must first notify their instructor, advisor, and/or EDS chair. The teacher candidate has the right to appeal decisions at the course and/or department level.

After issue of concern is identified in the EDS Data Dashboard the following occurs:

  1. An email will be sent to all members of the TCST(Program Chair, Advisor, Instructor, Major advisor).
  2. TCST must meet within three business days to discuss the issue that was documented in the dashboard.
  3. The individual responsible for submitting the issue to the dashboard, is also the individual responsible for tracking the concern to include documenting meetings, action items, and closing the case. This individual is, in essence, the chair of the TCST committee they initiated. This is also true when a faculty member, advisor, or the chair of the department is initiating a concern/issue on behalf of a teacher candidate.

If the TCST identifies an issue that requires an action plan in order for the teacher candidate to be successful in the Teacher Education Program (TEP) the professional growth plan (PGP) will be revised to reflect the issue at hand. This will involve laying out strategies for how the PGP will address the concern and how success will be evidenced. This portion of the PGP will be reported directly to the TCST. This revision must be reflected in the PGP within two weeks. The TCST will meet within two weeks to review the revised PGP. The PGP will be reviewed every semester at a minimum by the TCST until the teacher candidate progresses on the PGP, completes the PGP, or wishes to no longer proceed with teacher certification.

Should the issue/concern be initiated by the teacher candidate regarding an event involving a faculty member or advisor, a meeting between all involved will also take place and will include the student and the department chair. If a resolution is not possible during the meeting, the department chair may decide on the best course of action and/or guide the teacher candidate to use college-wide appeal processes.

The initiation and follow through of a TCST for a candidate who has not successfully completed the student teaching semester does not guarantee that the candidate will have the opportunity to repeat the professional term. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis that is dependent upon the outcome of what the TCST deems to be the best course of action in addition to college-wide policies that may not allow for an additional term.