Student Teacher Special Education

School District U-46 recognizes its responsibility to the future of the teaching profession by accepting student teachers into its classrooms under an agreement with the universities who place student teachers in our district. This agreement includes early field experience and student teaching. The purpose of the student teaching program in School District U-46 is to provide future teachers practical "hands-on" experience in a public school setting.

The program is designed to help future teachers: gain further understanding of the basic processes of learning; become more adept at applying methods and techniques needed to help facilitate student growth; understand and strengthen their commitment to public education; learn to assess themselves professionally; and recognize that the student teaching experience is the beginning of a continuing process of learning through which teachers grow toward the highest standards of excellence in teaching.

The program also allows a supervising teacher to improve his/her skills by: demonstrating the core propositions of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards; observing and analyzing student teacher performance and its impact on students; and having contact with the student teacher and university personnel on a collaborative basis.