- Participate in a mid-quarter and final three-way conference with the college supervisor and the teacher candidate.
- Submit the online Mid-Quarter/Final Student Teacher Evaluation (STE) at the mid-quarter and final points of the student teaching experience. The Watermark Manager at SUNY Cortland will email the online STE URL for completion of the STE by the opening date of the evaluation. If you do not receive an email from the Watermark Manager at SUNY Cortland, within one-week of the noted due date of the STE, please e-mail the FESP Office at FESP@cortland.edu.
- Complete the mentor teacher Evaluation of the college supervisor using the URL provided by the Watermark Manager. All parties to the student teaching process are evaluated through the STE and short surveys. Mentor teachers are evaluated by the student teacher and Supervisor.
- Observe the teacher candidate’s lesson implementation and interactions with students and provide daily feedback on the teacher candidate’s progress with performance, behavior, and attitude. At a minimum, this should include:
- Review of lesson plans
- Suggestions for teaching materials and resources to enrich lessons
- Observation and analysis of lessons taught
- Praise of strengths accompanied by suggestions for improvement
- Encouragement of self-analysis and reflection on ways to improve and engagement of students
- Feedback on interpersonal skills and rapport with students
- Provide periodic summative feedback on the teacher candidate’s progress and facilitate development of short-term and long-term goals for improvement. The conference should include a candid evaluation of the teacher candidate’s:
- Professionalism
- Lesson planning, preparation and implementation
- Classroom management and discipline
- Differentiating instruction to facilitate learning for all students
- Formal and informal assessment of student teaching outcomes
- Use of assessment data to inform instructional methodology
Each academic department may have specific forms for weekly/periodic evaluations. Please contact the student teacher’s college supervisor for further information.
Before the teacher candidate arrives, it is helpful to convey to the pupils that they should look upon the teacher candidate as another teacher in the classroom. All students are expected to follow the SUNY Cortland Student Teaching Calendar with respect to the beginning and ending dates of each student teaching quarter.
- Offer a work space (desk or table) for your teacher candidate.
- Introduce your teacher candidate to your pupils, colleagues and school staff.
- Have your pupils prepare welcome letters/interest inventories, etc.
- Orient your teacher candidate to the school.
- Guide the teacher candidate toward available materials for teaching.
- Help plan the teacher candidate’s first day and first week.
- Provide initial assistance to the teacher candidate in making lesson plans.
Teacher candidates are required to make initial contact with the mentor teacher following the receipt of their placement. This initial contact should include the scheduling of the initial meetings/conferences between the teacher candidates and mentor teacher to discuss both immediate and long-range plans. Items that should be discussed include:
- School district calendar (teacher candidates are expected to follow the academic calendar of the district)
- Arrival and departure times for both teachers and pupils
- Procedures for visitors to sign in and out (appropriate identification for the teacher candidate as specified by the district) and visitor parking
- Mentor teacher’s class schedule, including lunch periods, recess, subjects and activities specific to daily assignments for the mentor teacher. This also includes team teaching shifts, faculty meetings and clubs.
- Daily and weekly lesson plans
- Classroom organization and policies/procedures (e.g. attendance recording classroom discipline/management, grouping, pupil’s assembling and leaving the classroom)
- Methods of reporting pupil progress and assessment
- Fire drill and other school evacuation procedures
- School facilities such as library, health office, faculty room, supply room, custodial services
The mentor teacher:
- Works together with the teacher candidate to create a positive environment where the teacher candidate can feel confident in showing initiative, enthusiasm and creativity.
- Provides opportunity for the teacher candidate to develop independence in the classroom. Under the guidance of the mentor teacher, the teacher candidate should demonstrate initiative in assuming new responsibilities and in reflecting on their daily progress.
- Facilitates the teacher candidate’s development by sharing teaching resources and professional literature, by relating professional experiences, and by helping translate educational theories into best practices.
- Provides the teacher candidate with the opportunity to observe their style of managing students when teaching and facilitating classroom activities.
- Reviews with the teacher candidate the learning standards and collaborate in the development of instructional strategies to help students achieve clearly defined learning outcomes aligned with the standards.
- Reviews with the teacher candidate resources and select teaching materials that support lessons that would help all students achieve the desired learning outcomes.
- Reviews with the teacher candidate those traits and qualities which support successful teaching and are conducive to continued professional growth. The teacher candidate should be given practical suggestions for improvement, such as how to enrich lesson plans or how to differentiate instruction to engage all students.
Revised for Fall 2020/Spring 2021
Your contributions as a mentor teacher truly make a difference in the preparation of SUNY Cortland’s future teachers. In recognition of your commitment, the Professional Courtesies Brochure (PDF) which provides a list of privileges and benefits, is available for faculty associates during the current academic year.
Effective Jan. 1, 1995, the State University of New York implemented a new policy to recognize mentor teachers who have hosted SUNY teacher candidates on a full-time basis for one student teaching quarter. This SUNY-wide policy, offers two alternatives. (Adjusted for full semester placements.)
Cash Stipend - paid directly to the teacher – $200 for a quarterly placement or $400 for a full semester placement. If the cash stipend is selected, a check is mailed to the mentor teacher at their home address approximately 30-45 days from receiving election form.
or
Tuition Waver - $250 value for a quarterly placement or two (2) $250 value for a full semester placement and redeemable at State-operated campuses, valid for a period of up to 25 months, and relinquishable by the mentor teacher to the school system in which they are employed during the host period. If the tuition waiver is selected, it is forwarded to the mentor teacher at their school address unless there are other instructions from school district administration.
At the conclusion of either the student teaching quarter placement or full semester placement, a “Stipend/Waiver Election Form” is sent by the Field Experience and School Partnerships (FESP) Office to each mentor teacher, who then completes the form and returns it to FESP. For additional information please refer to Compensation Program.
In cases where two or more mentor teachers work regularly to host one teacher candidate during one quarter, an affidavit form precedes the election form. The affidavit will designate which one of the multiple mentor teachers is to receive the compensation; the ensuing election form will allow that one mentor teacher to select the cash stipend or the tuition waiver.
Effective immediately all SUNY institutions must have a completed Federal Tax W-9 form on file for each mentor teacher, administrator, and/or internship host in order to properly process stipend/tuition waiver certificates and any other honoraria or earnings.
Any questions regarding this process may be directed to the Field Experience and School Partnerships Office at 607-753-2823.