The Center for School Partnerships and Teacher Certification would like to congratulate you on your acceptance into a teacher preparation program at SUNY Potsdam. We are so happy that you have chosen to enter the field of teaching and we know that your program will prepare you to positively impact the lives of children across New York State and beyond.
Our Center is committed to providing teacher candidates with the guidance and support necessary to become successful throughout and beyond field experiences, student teaching, and certification. With this said, a series of emails and informational meetings will be provided throughout the program to verify field experience and student teaching eligibility and review important information related to certification.
To prepare for your pre-student teaching field experience, student teaching experience, and certification eligibility process, the following onboarding timeline must be followed and the associated requirements completed based on this timeline.
The Teacher Candidate should receive a welcome letter from the Office of Graduate Studies. The welcome letter will include instructions for enrollment in a Teacher Education Onboarding Brightspace course.
- Enroll in the Teacher Education Onboarding Brightspace Course
- Complete the Requirements for Fieldwork at least one semester before beginning any field-based course.
- Once enrolled in the onboarding course, read through all the information, and complete all requirements listed in Checkpoint 1
- Requirements submitted will be reviewed by the Center for School Partnerships and Teacher Certification and either marked as completed or returned for resubmission if the information is inaccurate.
NOTE: All requirements will need to be completed on the Brightspace course prior to being cleared to begin any field-based coursework.
Submit the Combined Application for Field-Based Experiences in Checkpoint 2 of the Teacher Education Onboarding Brightspace Course.
After declaring an education major or being accepted into a graduate-level program, the Teacher Candidate should schedule a meeting with their education advisor. During the meeting, they should identify when their anticipated pre-student teaching field experience course(s) and student teaching semester may occur.
Based on the advising plan, the Teacher Candidates will need to complete the application above at least 2 full semesters before entering the field.
New York City Placements: If planning on completing one or more placements in New York City with the NYC DOE, a separate application must be completed. Please email teachereducation@potsdam.edu to apply to student teach in NYC.
At least one semester prior to entering any field-based course, the Teacher Candidate must complete requirements to be cleared for field-based coursework.
The Teacher Candidate must complete the following one semester before entering a field-based course:
- Complete Checkpoint 3 in the Teacher Education Onboarding Brightspace Course
- Submit all Requirements for Fieldwork at least one semester before beginning any field-based course.
- Requirements submitted will be reviewed by the Center for School Partnerships and Teacher Certification and either marked as completed or returned for resubmission if the information is inaccurate.
NOTE: All requirements will need to be completed on the Brightspace course prior to being cleared to begin any field-based coursework.
Optional: Begin thinking about certification exams.
At least one semester prior to entering the student teaching semester the Teacher Candidate must complete requirements to be cleared to begin a student teaching placement.
The Teacher Candidate must complete the following one semester before entering student teaching:
- Complete Checkpoint 4 in the Teacher Education Onboarding Brightspace Course
- Create a student teaching resume at least one semester before beginning student teaching.
- The resume will be reviewed and approved by Career Services.
NOTE: A teaching resume approved by Career Services is required prior to being cleared to receive student teaching placement(s).
Optional: Continue to prepare or complete certification exams.