Viterbo University - La Crosse, WI

Congratulations! You are almost finished with your Early Childhood Education add-on license. In order to student teach, you must first meet the following criteria:

The number of credits you need for student teaching (1-3) will be determined by the ECE Program Specialist based upon previous experience teaching ECE aged students. A general guideline we follow will be the waiver of one credit for every five years of substantive ECE teaching experience. Confirmation letters will be requested as proof and a final decision will be made known to you.
You will need to complete 50 hours of student teaching for each credit required.
You will need to complete all hours in the same semester unless permission has been granted by the Program Specialist to spread the experience over two semesters.
Student teaching must be completed within two semesters of completing your coursework.
All ECE courses must be completed with a grade of C or better with an overall G.P.A. of 3.0 before you are allowed to student teach.
You must pass the Praxis II content exam #0014 (paper) or #5014 (computer) with a score of 147 or above before you are allowed to student teach. The Praxis Exam is called Elementary Education: Content Knowledge, but it is the test the DPI selected for all early childhood programs. To register for this exam go to www.ets.org.
All teachers whose license will be granted on or after January 1, 2014 must also pass the Wisconsin Reading Foundations Test. http://www.wi.nesinc.com/
All cooperating teachers must have an ECE license (70-777) and a minimum of three years of teaching experience. The cooperating teacher must also have completed a course in the supervision of student teachers. Viterbo will provide a course, if needed, via independent study at no-charge to the cooperating teacher. The ECE program specialist will review the cooperating teacher's credentials and determine whether the teacher meets the requirements to serve as a cooperating teacher. Cooperating teachers will be paid a stipend of $25 if you are taking one credit and $50 if you are taking two or three credits. All cooperating teachers will be given two $25 tuition reimbursement coupons. Payment and coupons will be distributed when you complete your hours and the final evaluation form has been returned to Viterbo University.
La Crosse Area student teaching placements need to be placed through the ECE Program Specialist. Please contact her for assistance before making any arrangements with the school or district.
We will need both you and your cooperating teacher to sign a student teaching contract so we have both your information and a signature verifying the cooperating teacher’s ECE license.
In special circumstances we will allow a building principal to serve as your cooperating teacher. You must speak with the program specialist for prior approval.
If you are team teaching with a licensed ECE teacher during your regular school day you may be permitted to count these hours as your student teaching. In most cases, this will work out especially well for the current EC:EEN teachers.
If you are an elementary teacher you may either use your prep period to work with a licensed ECE teacher or you may choose the daycare option during the summer.
If you need only one credit of student teaching, we will allow you to complete your student teaching hours with a job swap with a Pre-School or Kindergarten teacher ONLY if your district agrees to this.
Viterbo University will assign you a supervisor after you have applied to student teach. You will be notified of the supervisor’s name and contact information after your student teaching application has been processed.
You should have your lesson plans available for your supervisor to see when he/she visits. You are required to teach a minimum of one unit during the student teaching experience.
Your student teaching will be graded A, AB, B, BC, C, or F. You must receive a grade of C or better to be licensed. If you receive a grade below C you will need to repeat EDUC 552 and EDUC 553 and try student teaching again. You may repeat only one time.
An Application for Special Recognition form must be completed and turned in to the program specialist with the other student teaching forms. The form is needed for transcripts to reflect a new license.