■ Spring 2021 Field Experience Reminder: This notice is a reminder to all students who would like to opt into field experience this semester that you must follow the steps listed below in order to successfully document your field experience hours for licensure.
NOTE: If you have already completed these steps, spoken with Stephanie or Emily about a different plan in place, or have chosen to opt out of field experience this semester, please disregard.
Step 1: Submit one of the following Google forms, depending upon your individual situation:
- Spring 2021 Secured Placement Form
This is for students who have secured a placement on their own through previously established personal or professional connections. We use this form to double-check that the placement will meet your licensure requirements. - Spring 2021 Placement Request Form
This is for students who would like Stephanie or Emily to find them a placement on their behalf. If you have already filled out this form but haven’t received placement information yet, thank you for your patience. Placements typically take 3-4 weeks to confirm and have been markedly more challenging to find this semester.
Step 2: Once your placement has been verified by Stephanie or Emily, you will receive an email containing step-by-step directions on how to document your field experience. Please read this email carefully as the process has changed from previous semesters.
Like last semester, students are not required to complete field experience hours or fieldwork-related course assignments for the Spring 2021 semester. You can choose to opt in or out of field experience, depending on your personal circumstances, with no impact on your coursework or grades.
However, teacher licensing requirements have not been waived by the state licensing board. The board has not released any updates regarding field experience or student teaching for the 2021-2022 school year. This means that teacher candidates must still complete at least 100 hours of field experience prior to the semester in which they plan to student teach as well as other program-specific field experience requirements in order to receive an initial teaching license.
NOTE: If you already hold a teaching license and are pursuing an additional license through Augsburg, your field experience requirements may be different. Please contact Stephanie or Emily for further details.
If you are unsure of how to proceed this semester with your field experience requirements, please follow the steps below:
- Read the Spring 2021 Field Experience Guide and FAQs
- For further questions or concerns, contact a Field Experience Specialist:
- Elementary, Secondary, ESL, Music, Art, PE, and Health Students: Stephanie Duncomb, duncombs@augsburg.edu
- ABS Students: Emily Wollak, wollak@augsburg.edu
■ Reminder Regarding Pass/Low Pass/No Pass (P/LP/N) Grading Option: While the emergency Pass/Low Pass/No Pass grading option is again available this semester, remember that the university limits the number of classes that can be taken P/NP. You are encouraged to consult the university academic catalog, consult with your Faculty Mentor or Academic Advisor before making a decision on one of these alternate grading options. There is a limit for total courses taken as P/PN: “the maximum number of P/LP credits that may ordinarily be applied to graduation (24 credits) or as part of the maximum number of P/LP credits that may be applied to a major (8* credits) or minor (4* credits).”
■ Job Application Resource—Teach MSP Connect: Teach MSP Connect permits candidates to apply for openings from over 20 schools in and around Minnesota. School leaders are actively hiring for the 2021-22 school year. You can apply through their website at <https://teachmsp.org/>.
■ Job Openings at Venture Academy: Venture Academy in Minneapolis currently has two job openings. One is a high school English language position and the other is an English language paraprofessional position for the middle school. The middle school job requires a bi-lingual Spanish speaker. For the high school position, it is not a requirement but preference will be given to the who are Spanish speakers. If interested in applying, please email your resume and cover letter to <careers@ventureacademies.org>.
■ Teaching Materials For Sale: A recently retired P-12 teacher has offered to sell her library of resource materials to teacher candidates for $1.00-$2.00 each. Many new and nearly new books for teaching at all grade levels are available, including ESL, Math, English, Reading, World studies, Computer, Special Ed, preschool, elementary ed, afterschool enrichment, and Adult Basic Ed classes. For more information, please follow this link: <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LsjpFvi9wISW2lSd8i4uGtUiuds40O9P17w0hNRZCxE/edit?usp=sharing>.
Submitting news to Augsburg:
- To the Education Department News: Send your news to Joseph Erickson at C.B. 312 or erickson-AT-augsburg.edu.
- To the Augsburg Now published by the Augsburg University Office of Public Relations and Communication: Send your news to C.B. 145 or now@augsburg.edu.
- To the daily A-Mail electronic
newsletter: Go to AugNet Home Page and login. Then click on the “Submit
News and Announcements” link.
Connecting with Alumni and Friends:
Augsburg University provides several ways to stay connected with alumni and friends. Here are some links to get you started:
- Alumni Information Update: Submit news and contact information changes to the university’s Alumni Office.
- TC2 New Teachers’ Blog
Other Sources of News for K-12 Teachers:
Here are links to some of the very best online news sources for K-12 teachers:
- Education Week
- Teacher Magazine
- Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development (also, subscribe to ASCD SmartBrief, a daily
email news resource delivered right to your inbox).