Placement Office
Students enrolled in Concordia’s teacher education programs are required to complete a series of clinical experiences in area schools prior to graduating and obtaining a teaching license. Undergraduate students complete a 45/90 hour field experience, a 180 hour practicum and a fifteen-week student teaching experience. Full-time Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) candidates complete a 180-hour practicum that includes a four-week full-time component, and a twelve-week full-time student teaching experience. Part-time Masters of Arts in Teaching - Evening (MATE) candidates complete a six-week full-time practicum, and a twelve-week full-time student teaching experience. In all programs, students will complete a work sample at both their practicum and student teaching school sites.
The Placement Office will not only secure the sites in which the student will complete the experiences, it will also ensure you are partnered with a qualified teacher in the classroom, and receive mentoring from an assigned supervisor.
In securing placements for students, the Placement Office will take into consideration certain placement suggestions you provide through the placement questionnaire and contract. (You will be contacted by the Placement Office when this information is needed.) A person receives a network account when he or she has been accepted to the university and has submitted a deposit for enrollment.). The Placement Office can never guarantee that you will be at the site of your choice, however, we do value your input and make every attempt to honor your request.
When the Placement Office makes a request on your behalf, a package is sent to the district or school (depending on district protocol), which includes an overview of the clinical experience you need and a copy of the résumé you have provided to the Placement Office. Once the request package reaches the school, the building principal finds an interested teacher or teachers who will serve as your cooperating teacher(s). The principal then relays the information back to our office directly, or through his or her respective district. As soon as the Placement Office receives placement confirmation, we will notify you with instructions on how to proceed. Until you receive official confirmation from our office, please know that we are diligently working at securing your placement.