During the early childhood education internship, teacher candidates student teach in NAEYC- accredited early learning programs (serving children birth to age 5).
Before students may begin their internship experience, they must submit the following:
* Teacher Candidacy Form
* Confidentiality Contract
* While not currently required, Pediatric CPR Certification, Pediatric AED Certification, and Pediatric First Aid Certification are highly recommended and may be required by individual programs as part of their credentialing requirements for licensing and/or accreditation.
*It is also recommended that students have professional liability insurance during their student teaching internship.
An ABI/FBI background check is required for all clinical experiences. Please attach your suitability letter from The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) to the internship application.
Please review the information available at Alabama DOE Applicant Processing Services (https://www.aps.gemalto.com/al/index_adeNew.htm) to complete the ABI/FBI background check.
Internship Planning Steps:
Students may not enroll in HD 495 without having completed the internship planning steps and without having submitted the Teacher Candidacy Form, the Confidentiality Contract, and a criminal history check report summary. Permission of the HDFS ECE Internship Coordinator is required to enroll in HD 495.
Internships are completed during the last semester of the student′s undergraduate program. To ensure the student is well-prepared, all major courses must be taken before the internship. A cumulative GPA of 2.0 is required before an internship can be pursued. An overall GPA of 2.5 is required for an off-campus internship.
Internships are 6 or 12 credit hours. Internships that are six credit hours translate into 300 contact hours required in the early childhood classroom. Internships that are 12 credit hours translate into 600 contact hours required in the early childhood classroom. There are GPA requirements for a 12 credit hour internship (overall GPA 3.0). For 12 hour internships, all courses must be completed prior to the internship. HDFS Policy states that students enrolled in 6 credit hour internship may take no more than 6 additional credit hours. Teacher candidates enrolled in a 12 credit hour internship may not take any additional credit hours.
Teacher candidates who are student teaching will complete head teaching, in which they will be required to be present and teaching every day of specified weeks, for the entire week. Be sure to plan any coursework that accompanies your internship accordingly. Your advisor can help you in this planning.
Complete internship planning steps in the semester before your intended internship semester. If you want to intern in the Spring semester, you will need to complete necessary steps in the prior Fall semester. It is the student’s responsibility to begin internship planning in a timely fashion and in a manner consistent with these guidelines.
All internship planning must be completed by the first day of Study Week (“Dead Week”) in the planning semester (the semester prior to internship). Refer to the UA Academic Calendar to identify when Study Week (“Dead Week”) will occur in current and future semesters. It is the student’s responsibility to plan accordingly.
1. Complete advising with your faculty advisor during HDFS departmental advising (prior to registration of courses). This is mandatory.
2. Complete the forms, using the link provided below. Attach your completed Confidentiality Contract and Criminal History Check Report Summary to the Teacher Candidacy Form. Please read each prompt carefully.
Complete Internship Form Here
3. You will receive a confirmation email that your form was successfully submitted.
4. The ECE Internship Coordinator will email you once your teacher candidacy form and accompanying materials are received. Using the information provided in the form, you will be placed in one of three NAEYC-accredited early learning programs in the Tuscaloosa area. Distance learning students will complete their internships in NAEYC-accredited programs in their areas.
5. You will receive notification regarding your placement from the ECE Internship Coordinator. Information regarding next steps (i.e., coordinating scheduling and orientation with on-site supervisors or coordinators and information about the mandatory Internship Orientation Meeting at the end of the semester) will accompany this notification.
6. Teacher candidates should meet with their on-site supervisors before the end of the semester to discuss an attendance schedule, develop specific objectives for the teacher internship, satisfy any site-specific credentialing requirements, and go over general responsibilities.
Teacher candidates who are pursuing the Pre-Kindergarten: Birth to Age 4 Child Development Teaching Certificate have additional requirements established by The Alabama State Department of Education that must be met. These requirements include testing, additional criminal history reporting measures, and edTPA teaching portfolio requirements that are completed during student teaching. Please refer to Teacher Certification Checklist and connect with your advisor to learn more about the certification process. Please note that the PRAXIS: Pre-Kindergarten Education Content Knowledge Test has specific testing windows and testing will occur only during these times; please plan accordingly.
