The School of Education and Public Service collaborates with Cooperating School Teachers and Principals in the preparation of our Candidates for their Profession. Since Fall 2010, Cooperating school partners have been present at Teacher Education Progression Phase II interviews and have provided valuable feedback to our candidates about their readiness for student teaching.

 

We especially Thank the Wilson County Teachers of the Year group, whose feedback and insight has been consistently valuable to us and our candidates.

 

Before approval to enter TEP Phase II: Professional Student Teaching semester, all undergraduate candidates for teacher licensure must meet the following requirements:

 

(Master's Candidates' requirements are different. Please read the information on the "Master's Teacher Licensure Program" webpage)

 

·	Complete a formal interview with the Teacher Education Committee.… Have met the requirements of the Teacher Education Progression, Phase I and be fully admitted Teacher Education Candidates;

·	Meet everything "Required of initial Teacher Licensure Candidates";

·	Have met all professional education core requirements, all coursework required for the major and all general education core coursework in the teaching content area with a grade of "C" or better (ED 301 requires a grade of "B" or better);

·	Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75;

·

Take all relevant Praxis II exams for the type of licensure they seek (including Principles of Teaching and Learning and the appropriate Specialty Area tests) and meet the minimum cut-off scores for Tennessee licensure; candidates must have passed all required tests. NO ONE WILL BE ADMITTED TO Phase II or ALLOWED TO STUDENT TEACH until these conditions are met;

·

Have two dispositions ratings forms completed for you. At least one (preferably both) must be from a cooperating teacher from a field experiences placement. One may be from your adviser or  from another faculty member  - ask those individuals to email the School of Education & Public Service Administrative Assistant to get the link;

·	Admission must be approved by a majority vote of the Teacher Education Committee.

TEP II interviews are held each Fall and Spring semester. A sign up sheet for interview time slots is posted in the main office of Bone Hall. Please come by Bone Hall or contact the School of Education and Public Service office to sign up for an interview time and to be aware of paperwork requirements and submission dates.

 

CANDIDATES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT ALL VERIFICATION FOR EACH REQUIREMENT IS SUBMITTED TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE INTERVIEW. Candidates who do not have proof of meeting certain requirements may still interview, but their acceptance into TEP Phase II will be deferred until proof is provided to the School of Education and Public Service.

 

Cooperating School personnel will be present at interviews and candidates should consider this interview as an important first in making contacts and first impressions with teachers and principals from area schools.

 

The interview will follow this protocol:

·	Professional dress and manner are expected at the interview.

·	The interview panel will be composed of at least three interviewers composed of CU Faculty, P-12 administrators or faculty, or other community members.

·	One of the Interviewers will serve as the facilitator.

·	Interviewers will ask questions based on the items on the Interview Ratings Sheet. Interviewers may ask the candidate for clarification of responses.

·	Interviews are scheduled in 1/2 hour blocks.

·	Interviewers will complete a rating sheet for each candidate.

 

There are three possible outcomes to the interview:

1.	Acceptance: the candidate is accepted into the Teacher Education Progression, Phase II.

2.	Denied acceptance:  the candidate is denied progression through the checkpoint unless specific conditions are met; candidates may reapply the following semester. Candidates may only reapply once.