College of Education & Professional Studies

Teacher Internship Program

Fall 2022 and Spring 2023

If you view yourself as confident, energetic, and creative and view teaching as a wonderfully challenging adventure, you may qualify for an exciting opportunity to fulfill your student teaching requirement by serving as a Teacher Intern during the semester designated on your licensure plan for student teaching. Individuals selected carry out their teaching under the supervision of a cooperating teacher and a university supervisor, as in student teaching, but generally assume more responsibility than student teachers. Prospective employers may view a Teacher Intern as a more valuable pre-service experience than student teaching.

School districts are charged $5000 per semester per intern. The Teacher Intern is paid a stipend of $4500, based on full-time field participation (50% teaching/50% study, observation, planning). Benefits are not included. Of the remaining $500, $225 is shared by the cooperating teacher and intern to attend a workshop or conference, or to purchase software or books for the classroom, and $225 is applied toward Teacher Internship Program expenses. Interns register and pay for 12 university credits, which fulfill the student teaching requirement for teacher certification. Additional costs are listed under Additional Steps and Information for UW-W Internship Candidates (#11 & #12).

Selection Criteria for Intern Candidates

(Important - Please Read)

The admission of students to the Teacher Internship Program is based on:

Evidence of teaching potential and professional commitment
Scholastic record
Admission to the College of Education & Professional Studies

Special Education majors must receive permission from the Special Education Department PRIOR to completing an intern application. Early Childhood majors must receive permission from the ECE program PRIOR to completing an intern application. Submit an email requesting consideration to the program coordinator.Here is how the Internship process works:

1) Students complete the necessary paperwork to apply to the Teacher Internship Program. They are notified via email if they are or are not approved.

2) Schools who want to hire an intern(s) complete an Intern Request form on the Wisconsin Improvement Program (WIP) website. When their request is approved by WIP, the UW-W Teacher Internship Office is made aware of the request.

3) The Teacher Internship Office notifies intern candidates whenever new openings occur (the same placement rules that apply to student teachers also apply to interns - see information under Teacher Internship Application Process).

4) Intern candidates let the Teacher Internship Office know which openings they want to apply for and the Teacher Internship Office sends their application to those schools.

5) The school(s) decide who to interview and ultimately who they would like to offer the internship to.

6) The intern candidate can accept or reject the school's offer.

7) If an intern candidate does not get an internship, they will student teach during that same semester (in fact, most of the time the intern candidate will have been placed as a student teacher (and that placement will be cancelled if s/he accepts an internship).

8) Acceptance as a candidate to the Teacher Internship Program is considered tentative pending successful completion of all applicable student teaching and internship requirements. Unsuccessful completion will result in the withdrawal from the Teacher Internship Program.

Application Procedures

All application materials are available from this website. If you encounter problems with the website, please contact Jill Gerber.

Deadlines*:

Fall 2024: Applications are due to Jill Gerber by March 1, 2024. Applications will not be accepted until: 1) You have passed Praxis II or have a 3.0 Content GPA 2) All application materials are completed and sent to gerberj@uww.edu Applicants will be notified of openings via campus email. Attention Spring Applicants for fall internships!! Don't miss out!! Some schools interview spring intern positions as early as April, so be sure to have your completed applications in by the March 1st deadline.

Spring 2025: Applications will be due by October 1, 2024

For more information, please contact the following:

Jill Gerber
Data and Special Programs Assistant
Winther Hall 2003
262.472.1935
gerberj@uww.edu

Internship Application Materials

Fall 2024 (due March 1, 2024) and Spring 2024 (due October 1, 2023)

Applications materials should be scanned and sent to gerberj@uww.edu
Contact Jill Gerber with questions.
Because MC-EA majors complete their field study at both elementary and middle school levels, student teaching internships may be completed at either the elementary or middle school level. An EA-A major who does his/her field study at the middle school level must student teach or intern at the high school level (and vice versa). Forms/documents necessary to apply for a teacher internship are listed below.
These forms should be completed online. Save the form to your computer and then use Adobe Reader to fill-out and save the form. You can download a free copy of Reader at the Adobe Reader Homepage. To save the form down to your computer, on a PC right-click on the link; on a Mac, control-click on the link.
Also, please contact Jill Gerber if you have problems with the forms. Please email all forms to Jill Gerber - gerberj@uww.edu

1. Teacher Internship Application Form

2. ONE (1) Teacher Internship Reference Forms - Applicants should give or send a Reference form to one reference or have them go online to complete it (and save if preferred). If a reference completes it online, s/he can print the form, sign, and return to you or to the Teacher Internship Office. You also need to complete and give a FERPA form to your reference and to our office for them/us to keep (see #3 just below).

3. FERPA - Complete and give a FERPA form to your reference along with the Reference form referred to above. F.E.R.P.A. stands for Federal Educational Rights & Privacy Act. The purpose is to give your reference permission to complete the reference form for you. Applicants must also complete and turn in one F.E.R.P.A. form for the Teacher Internship Office (giving us permission to send your paperwork to schools in need of interns. For assistance in completing the F.E.R.P.A. form, see #20 after clicking on "here" on the bottom of the page).

4. Teacher Internship Clearance Form

5. Resume

Please scan and send all materials to gerberj@uww.edu. Special Education majors must receive permission to apply. All other students can apply, but must pass the appropriate Praxis II test for your major or have a 3.0 GPA in your major content area before you will be approved.
Meet with the Subject Area Coordinator for your major, taking the Teacher Internship Clearance Form and a copy of your unofficial transcript with you (a list of Subject Area Coordinators is at the bottom of the Teacher Internship Clearance Form). If you are unsure of your student teaching semester, please contact the department of your major. If you have a Bilingual/Bicultural minor, note the additional required signature.
A minimum combined GPA of 2.75 is required for application to the Teacher Internship Program and must be maintained throughout the remaining educational program.
A grade of C (2.00) or better in any course or approved equivalency in your program area (defined as both major and licensure area) is required and must be maintained throughout the remaining educational program. An incomplete in any of these courses is unacceptable. If you repeat a course, the repeated grade will count.
One reference from a UW-W faculty member is required. Give or mail your reference the reference form and completed COEPS F.E.R.P.A form. The F.E.R.P.A. form (completed and signed by you) gives your reference permission to complete the reference form for you; therefore, your reference should keep the F.E.R.P.A. form. See #18 below for suggestions for completing the F.E.R.P.A. forms. Some references prefer to complete the reference form online (they will need to print the completed reference form, sign, and send or fax to the address on the form). Completed reference forms can also be given/sent to the intern applicant.
Applicants must also complete one F.E.R.P.A. form for the Teacher Internship Office, as we need permission to send your file to schools interested in hiring an intern (see #20 below for suggestions for completing the F.E.R.P.A. form).
As part of the approval procedure, the Teacher Internship Coordinator may solicit input regarding the qualifications of applicants from faculty members in the UW-Whitewater Departments of: Curriculum & Instruction; Educational Foundations; Special Education; and/or other academic departments.
The Teacher Internship Office usually communicates with students via their University email address.
After reviewing each completed file, the intern candidate's student teacher semester will be verified and an email will be sent indicating approval or denial. Approval as a prospective intern does not guarantee the availability or awarding of a Teacher Internship placement. A student may reapply to the Teacher Internship Program if circumstances should change for a student who has been denied acceptance.
Approved Intern candidates will be notified regularly via email of schools requesting interns. Intern candidates will then notify the Office of Clinical Experiences where to send their files. Typically, school personnel review the files, select candidates for interviews, and contact those students directly. Feel free to check with the Office of Clinical Experiences on the status of your application at any time.
Each UW-W Teacher Intern will be charged $200, which covers an administrative fee charged by DPI. This should be paid when you receive your first paycheck. No intern will receive a passing grade for the internship until this is paid. All checks should be delivered to Jill Gerber, Winther 2003.
Interns are subject to identical requirements as student teachers with respect to the TB test and criminal background checks.
Interns may not leave an internship placement early to accept a teaching position.
Special Education, PE, and ECE majors will enroll in their content-appropriate seminars. All other majors must enroll in CIGENRL 470.
Teacher Intern candidates and those with confirmed internships must attend all student teacher meetings, which are held on campus or remotely.
If your application is approved but a placement does not occur, you will be assigned a regular student teaching placement by the Office of Clinical Experiences.
The files of Teacher Internship candidates not receiving an internship will be discarded at the end of the semester.
The following guidelines for completing the COEPS FERPA form are only suggestions: I AUTHORIZE: Office of Clinical Experiences (on the FERPA form for each reference, write in the reference's name). TO DISCLOSE...: grades and academic transcript; performance observation notes, evaluation instruments or information, general comments about performance in a course during a field experience (Field Studies, Student Teaching, Internship, Practicum, etc.) OTHER (SPECIFY): verification of hiring and salary TO THE FOLLOWING...: prospective employer(s); school official(s) responsible for admission to educational programs; individual(s) responsible for scholarship, grants, etc.; OTHER (SPECIFY): rental agencies FOR THE FOLLOWING REASON(S) (explain): Future employment; pursuit of further education; salary verification for housing purposes; grants/scholarships THIS AUTHORIZATION WILL BE IN EFFECT UNTIL: we suggest putting a date of two years from the date of signing.