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FIELD EXPERIENCE AND STUDENT TEACHING CLEARANCES AND PROCEDURES The following clearances are required by school districts before a student can enter the school for field experiences or for student teaching:
Field Experience Placement Procedures To provide Teacher Education students with opportunities to assess their interest in teaching and to begin developing professional competencies throughout their professional studies, field experiences are built into the requirements for designated Education courses. Field experiences take place in various N-12 classrooms depending on the students’ certification area(s). Field experience placements will be varied so students can experience multiple grade levels and teaching styles. The Supervisor of Field Experiences makes periodic visits to the regional schools where students are placed each semester. Departmental permission is required to register for all field experiences courses. Students must have the required GPA to register. A Field Experience Placement Form must be completed at the time of registration and turned in to the Coordinator of Field Placements when preregistering for these courses. This placement form is available in this handbook, on-line at the Education Department web site, or from the Education Department.. When the course with the field experience begins, clearances must be submitted to the Coordinator of Field Placements before the 5th week of class to remain on the roster. The Coordinator then submits these clearances to the school. All placements for field experiences are made by the Coordinator of Field Experiences. Students who bypass this policy and attempt to make their own placements by contacting school officials or who change their placement on their own will be dropped from the course roster. Violations of this policy will be reviewed by the Education Department faculty to determine the students’ retention in the Teacher Education Program. During the field experience, professional conduct and dress are critical, as are the fulfillment of course requirements and responsibilities. Professional conduct is assessed by the course instructor, with feedback provided by the cooperating teacher and Supervisor of Field Experiences. Should violations of ethical conduct or lack of responsibility occur within the field placement, the Education Department faculty will meet to review the students’ retention in the Teacher Education Program. Student Teaching Placement Procedures Student teaching typically occurs during the final semester of the students' academic program, when all other coursework is completed. During the semester prior to student teaching, students must attend a mandatory Student Teaching Placement Seminar to receive and review the required paperwork to initiate the process for placement at a school district. Eligibility for student teaching is determined by the prescribed set of criteria listed in the Wilkes University Teacher Education Program Handbook. Student teachers are placed in an educational setting arranged by the Director of Student Teaching and must register for the 15-credit course, ED 390--Student Teaching with Seminar. Applying for Clearances Students can apply for the Criminal Record Check on-line at https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp. A credit card or a bank debit card payment is needed to complete the application. When the clearance appears on the screen indicating that “no record exists,” the student should press the print icon to print a copy of the clearance, and bring the copy to the Education Department. The Child Abuse Clearance Application can be downloaded on line at http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/Resources/Documents/Pdf/FillInForms/DPWchildabuse.pdf Students can print out the application, complete the application, and mail it with a check to the designated office in Harrisburg. Act 114 FBI Fingerprint Checks will be required of all Education Department students who participate in student teaching, internships, clinical or field experience (aiding). Student must provide to the Wilkes Education Department a copy of their Federal Criminal History Record that cannot be more than one (1) year old. This FBI clearance will be valid for aiding and student teaching as long as the student is continuously enrolled in the Teacher Education Program at Wilkes University. This process, as outlined below, needs to be done well in advance, as it can take up to eight weeks to receive the required FBI Federal Criminal History Record. 1. Registration: The applicant must register with Cogent Systems prior to going to the fingerprint site, either online at www.pa.cogentid.com (anytime) or by phone at 1-888-439-2486 (Monday through Friday, 8am to 6pm EST). During the registration process, all demographic data for the applicant is collected (name, address, SSN, etc.) so there is no data entry required at the fingerprint collection site. Applicants must remember to pay the fee after inputting their data. 2. Payment: The fee is $40.00 for the fingerprint service and to secure the Criminal History Record. Applicants may make their payment online at www.pa.cogentid.com using a credit card or debit card. NO CASH TRANSACTIONS OR PERSONAL CHECKS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Money orders or cashiers checks PAYABLE TO COGENT SYSTEMS will be accepted for those who cannot pay electronically. 3. Confirmation Receipt: After registration and payment, applicants should print the registration form, which includes their confirmation number, name and social security number. You will need your social security number and birth date to access and print this receipt at the Cogent Website. 4. Fingerprinting Sites: The registration receipt must be presented at the fingerprinting site, as proof of registration. Location of the fingerprint sites and days and hours of operation for each site throughout the state are posted on Cogent Systems’ website at www.pa.cogentid.com. The designated site for Luzerne/Wyoming counties is Luzerne Intermediate Unit, Human Resources Office, and 368 Tioga Ave., Kingston, PA 18704. Call 718-4600 to schedule an appointment. Current hours of operation are 9 am-2 pm, Monday through Friday. These times could change; check the Cogent web site before going to any fingerprinting site. 5. Documentation: Cogent Systems requires current, valid and unexpired picture identification documents. As a primary form of picture identification, a state-issued driver’s license may be presented by an applicant when being fingerprinted. If you don’t have a driver’s license, check the Cogent web site for acceptable alternative identification. 6. Fingerprinting Procedure: After the identity of the applicant has been established, all ten fingers are scanned to complete the brief (less than ten minute) process. The applicant’s scanned fingerprints will be electronically transmitted to the Pennsylvania State Police, who in turn submits the fingerprints and demographic information to the FBI. An applicant may download a fingerprinting receipt from the Cogent website on their home computer. 7. Federal Criminal History Record: PDE’s School Services Unit will return the Federal Criminal History Record to the applicant. It will be printed on standard 8.5” X 11” paper with the Commonwealth Seal embedded on the paper. This document constitutes an official Record; without the official seal, it is invalid. This is the document that must be submitted to Wilkes Education Department to be eligible for aiding or student teaching. The original document will be copied for Education Department files and returned to the student. In the event that you do not receive your official document within eight weeks, you may phone (717) 783-3750 or e-mail PDE at dwolfgang@state.pa.us. Before contacting the PDE, you would need your fingerprinting receipt as proof that you completed the fingerprinting process.
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