Student Teaching Placements

The Placement Process

  • Applying for Student Teaching - Fall student teaching applications are due by February 1 and spring applications are due by August 1. The application works best with Google Chrome or Fire Fox. To apply for student teaching go to my.missouristate.edu > Teacher Education Resources card/box > Student Teaching Application. Fill out the application. If it does not work, refresh and try again. If problems persist, contact PES@MissouriState.edu or 417-836-8772. Please review all senior requirements by reviewing the Education Senior Checklist. 
  • Application and Approval – Program coordinators review and approve submitted applications and placement requests. All coursework and prerequisites must be completed before student teaching begins.
  • Placement Process – Field Placement specialists collaborate with program coordinators and school districts to secure a placement. The student’s district preferences and district availability are highly considered during this process. This process can take eight to twelve weeks.
    • Neither the student teacher nor other interested parties are to contact schools regarding student teaching assignments. This is the responsibility of the Professional Education Services office.
    • Diverse Placements - All previous field experiences will be reviewed to verify that both a diverse placement and specified proficiencies for working with students with "diverse learning needs" have been completed. If these criteria have not been met, the student teaching placement will be in a diverse setting.
    • Student teachers will not be placed in a school/district where a relative is employed or attends.
    • Secondary and K-12 student teachers will be assigned to a high school other than the one from which they graduated
    • Please note: Not all programs allow out-of-area or out-of-state placement and must be approved by the program on an individual basis.
  • NOTIFICATION OF PLACEMENT – The student teacher will be notified of their placement after:
    • Placement has been confirmed with the school district.
    • Compliance Documents are valid through the end of the student teaching semester.
    • The program coordinator has reviewed and released distribution of final placements.
  • Placement information will be provided via MSU Bearmail. This is a ‘no reply’ email which may go to junk mail or clutter. This notification includes finalized placement details including location and cooperating teacher contact information.
  • Student teachers are required to contact the cooperating teacher immediately to arrange a time to meet prior to the beginning of student teaching.
  • When a University Supervisor has been assigned, the supervisor’s contact information will be emailed to the student teacher via MSU Bearmail.
  • Some school districts require additional compliances and paperwork which must be submitted directly to those school districts. Students will be notified by the district regarding deadlines for submitting this paperwork.
    • Some examples of additional compliances include Family Care Safety Registry (FCSR) background check, TB testing, resume, philosophy of education, letters of recommendation, etc.
    • Some student teachers will be required to obtain an additional fingerprinting background check using the district’s four-digit fingerprinting code. The FBI does not allow MSU and school districts to share your information. All fingerprinting costs will be the responsibility of the student teacher.