College of Education: Pre-Professional Hours

Current High School Partners

Oak Park River Forest High School, Oak Park, IL

Proviso East High School, Maywood, IL

Proviso West High School, Hillside, IL

Proviso Math and Science Academy, Forest Park, IL

Lyons Township High School, La Grange, IL

Elmwood Park High School, Elmwood Park, IL

Carmel High School, Mundelein, IL

Walther Christian Academy, Melrose Park, IL

Montini Catholic High School, Lombard, IL

East Leyden High School, Franklin Park, IL

Fenwick High School, Oak Park, IL

Trinity High School, River Forest, IL

Carl Sandburg High School, Orland Park, IL

Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, Palos Hills, IL

Victor J. Andrew High School, Tinley Park, IL

Please reach out to Katie Pece if you are interested in observing at one of our Partner Schools:

PAEC Academy (Proviso Area for Exceptional Children which is a Special Education Cooperative)

1640 Newcastle Avenue; Westchester

PK-8^th Grade

PAEC Academy supports only students with disabilities in self-contained classroom environments. Students receiving their education at PAEC Academy have not been successful in their home school districts. Students have a variety of disabilities classified as high incidence disabilities.

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New Horizon Center (NHC)

6737 W. Forest Preserve Drive; Chicago

PK-age 22

NHC is a non-profit private day therapeutic school serving only students with disabilities. It is approved by ISBE and students attend NHC from 29 surrounding public school districts. Students have a variety of disabilities classified as low incidence disabilities.

How do I schedule field experience hours?

*NOTE: YOU MUST HAVE A BACKGROUND CHECK ON FILE PRIOR TO ANY OBSERVATION*

Students seeking field experience have several options.  If your course requires field experience, please work with your professor to secure a site location or use one of the following options to schedule your field experience for this semester.

Option 1 - SignUpGenius
Use SignUpGenius to register with a public or Lutheran educator to conduct your observations in their classroom.  Transportation is not provided, however, if you don’t have a car, you may carpool with a classmate or walk to schools that are in close proximity.  Don’t forget to plan ahead.  If you sign up to observe, the expectation, unless there is an emergency, is that you will be present on the day of the observation.  Links can be found on the left side of this page.

Option 2 - Self-Placement
If you have a professional connection with a school and teacher, you may fill out the OFE Pre-Approval of Student Initiated Site Location Form found on the left side of this page.  The form must be completed in its entirety.  You may not observe at the school until your form has been completed, turned into the Office of Field Experience, and you have been notified of your approval.

Option 3- High School Placements

The Office of Field Experience is working on developing additional partnerships with high schools for candidates to conduct secondary observations.  If you are taking a course that requires 15 or more hours of observation, please reach out to Katie Pece, Director of Field Experience, to get connected to one of our partner schools.  You will be required to complete all observation hours for the semester at the same location.

Option 4 - Waiver (for MAT students only)
Students in the MAT Program who have been teaching in a school or have been working as a long-term substitute for at least one full academic year may submit the documentation needed to have hours waived (hours waived must be for specific coursework hours). If you fall into this category, please read the MAT Waiver Information document carefully, and submit all documentation to the Office of Field Experience.  

What should I do before my field experience observation?

• Complete your background check.
• Make transportation arrangements to and from your designated school.
• Dress for success!

What should I do during my field experience observation?

• Bring a Driver's License or State Identification with you to every visit.
• Maintain a positive, enthusiastic, and supportive attitude during your field experience.
• Show up prepared, and when expected. If you will be late or absent, contact your supervising teacher and Office of Field Experience prior to your expected arrival time.
• Have the supervising teacher(s) sign the Record of Pre-Professional Hours Form.  You will add this form in Tevera as documentation for your visit.

What should I do after my field experience observation?

At the end of your field experience, it is your responsibility to keep a record of the hours you have completed.  All Pre-Professional Hours and forms must be uploaded and added in Tevera. Students need to have 100 observation hours prior to the Student Teaching Internship.  A maximum of 40 hours may be completed at one site.

In addition to this responsibility, you are encouraged to conclude your field experience by mailing or hand-delivering a thank-you note to the classroom teacher. Your message can be simple, acknowledging the time and effort involved as well as what you learned from the experience.

Candidates are required to have a Fingerprint Criminal Background Check on file in the College of Education prior to attending field experience in any school and to be admitted to the College of Education Teacher Candidacy. The Fingerprint Criminal Background Check must comply with the current State of Illinois requirements for educators. Candidates must contact the Office of Field Experience for current information on where and how to obtain the background check.

Background Check Locations: Visit Accurate Biometrics

Field Experience Attendance Policy

No Pay for observation hours (ISBE policy)

Attendance at scheduled field experience sessions is required.  Cancellations for an observation on Sign-Up Genius must happen before the sign-up closes on Thursday the week prior to scheduled observations.

• In the event of an unavoidable absence caused by extenuating circumstances, report the absence by phone as soon as it is anticipated, to the following people in the order listed: course instructor, cooperating teacher, and the Office of Field Experience (708-209-3086).  

• Submit an Absence Notification Form via Tevera including possible doctor’s note, or other documentation. 

• More than three absences from scheduled field experience observation sessions will result in referral to the Assistant Dean and Office of Field Experience.

• Consequences for missing scheduled field experience observation sessions include removal from the field experience site, referral to the Program Leader, failure of the course, or referral to TCCRB.

Director of Field Experience - Ms. Katie Pece

Coordinator of Internship and Student Placement - Mrs. Shannon Owens