SAINT PAUL TEACHING FELLOWS

        IS SEEKING SPPS SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHERS TO BE        

                                                  COOPERATING TEACHERS

                                                  FOR THE FELLOWS SUMMER TRAINING INSTITUTE

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2009

This summer, the SPPS summer school program will be working in conjunction with the Saint Paul Teaching Fellows program to prepare outstanding new Saint Paul teachers in hard to fill areas. Cooperating Teachers (CTs) are SPPS summer school teachers who serve as master teachers and role models for Saint Paul Teaching Fellows, who serve as student teachers in the CTs’ summer school classrooms. Saint Paul Teaching Fellows is an alternative certification program which hires select career changers and recent college graduates to begin teaching and taking credential courses in the fall.

CTs should be well-organized, have a record of achievement in their own classrooms, and be willing and open to sharing best practices with and feedback to Fellows.  Over the course of the summer, CTs ensure that Fellows successfully increase their teaching responsibilities in the CTs’ classrooms.  Cooperating teachers offer suggestions and feedback to Teaching Fellows but are not expected to formally evaluate the Fellows’ performance or potential. 

COOPERATING TEACHER RESPONSIBILITIES

• Share with the Teaching Fellows assigned to the Cooperating Teacher’s classroom best practices for all aspects of teaching and managing the classroom, including (but not limited to):

• goal setting (long-term planning; diagnosing students; benchmarking expectations)
• instructional strategies (lesson design; assessments; grouping; differentiating instruction)
• classroom environment (classroom systems and procedures; misbehavior; transitions)
• school and community support and professional development (resources; self-reflection)

• Provide Fellows with overview of summer school curriculum (texts, standards, student work, etc.) at the beginning of summer school
• Offer Fellows steadily increasing responsibility for lead teaching in the summer school classroom (proposed pacing chart will be provided)
• Assist the Fellows in planning and delivering lessons
• Anticipate and answer questions about school and district procedures and culture
• Allow the Fellows to observe other teachers and other opportunities to foster their development
• Meet briefly once a week at summer school with the Fellow Advisors to provide input on the Fellows’ development and receive updates on what the Fellows are learning in their daily training workshops (held each afternoon)
• Attend one orientation meeting to receive information and meet the Fellow Advisors

·      Operate with high expectations for the Fellows’ ability to positively impact student achievement in the summer school classroom and to develop into excellent teachers in their own classrooms

Compensation:

Cooperating Teachers will receive a stipend of $250 per Fellow, with CTs likely having one Fellow in their classroom. Stipends are provided by The New Teacher Project (www.tntp.org), a non-profit education organization that provides assistance to Saint Paul Public Schools and the Saint Paul Teaching Fellows program. For more information, please visit www.SaintPaulTeachingFellows.org.

To apply, email Matthew.Bannon@SPPS.org your resume and cover letter answering the following questions: What experience do you have in giving and receiving constructive feedback based on classroom observations? What do you feel are some key guiding principles in giving feedback to new teachers after an observation?

Applications are due by the close of business on May 8, 2009.