Guideline Document
Plainfield Public Schools values our partnerships with Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) and is proud to help cultivate the next generation of highly effective educators. We welcome the energy, enthusiasm, and talent that student teachers and interns bring to our classrooms, and we look forward to supporting your professional journey.
To ensure a well-coordinated, successful experience for both our candidates and our K-12 students, the district utilizes a centralized process for all student teaching, practicum, and clinical internship placements.
Understanding our Student Teacher, Teacher Intern, and Pre-Student Teaching Placement Process
To ensure an orderly and equitable process, we kindly ask that prospective student teachers and interns do not contact building principals, classroom teachers, or district staff directly to
request or arrange a placement. Please understand that we have established formal guidelines for submissions. All clinical experiences must be a structured partnership between your university’s placement office and the district. Candidate-initiated or "self-placed" requests cannot be accommodated.
All placement requests must be formally initiated and submitted by your college or university’s designated Field Placement Office. Placement coordinators should direct all official inquiries and digital application packages to the Office of Talent and Instruction:
Mrs. Natasha Hutchinson
Assistant Superintendent for Talent and Instruction Plainfield Public Schools Central Office
[email protected]
(860) 564-6457
Reviewing Capacity and Certifications
Plainfield Public Schools is committed to supporting student teaching and clinical internships,
offering positions as they are available. However, the primary factor driving our ability to accept any placement is the availability of highly qualified staff to support the candidate. Mentoring a student teacher requires significant time, expertise, and dedication. Therefore, we will only approve placements when we can successfully pair a candidate with an experienced,high-performing cooperating teacher who has the capacity to provide robust mentorship.
We recognize that there are many alternative and online preparation programs nationwide that provide fast-track pathways to teacher certification in states such as Arizona, Washington, or the District of Columbia.While we welcome diverse pathways into education, our primary mission is supporting our local workforce pipeline. While all applications will be considered, the district prioritizes partnerships with programs that lead directly to Connecticut teacher certification, including the state’s 14 approved traditional programs. As of July 2026, the following traditional educator preparation programs have been officially approved by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE):
● Albertus Magnus College
● Central Connecticut State University (CCSU)
● Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU)
● Fairfield University
● Mitchell College
● Quinnipiac University
● Relay Graduate School of Education
● Sacred Heart University
● Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU)
● University of Bridgeport
● University of Connecticut (UCONN)
● University of Hartford
● University of Saint Joseph
● Western Connecticut State University (WCSU)
Required University Documentation
When requesting a placement, the university placement coordinator should provide the Office of Talent and Instruction with a complete packet containing:
● Formal Placement Request: A written overview detailing the specific parameters of the placement (required clock hours, grade levels, subject areas, and start/end dates).
● Candidate Profile: The student's current professional resume and unofficial academic transcripts.
● Institutional Framework: A copy of the university’s clinical handbook and the specific
evaluation rubrics our cooperating teachers will be asked to complete.
Submission Timelines
To give our leadership teams adequate time to review candidate profiles and match students with highly qualified, tenured mentoring teachers, we ask that university coordinators submit requests by the following dates:
Semester Placement
Fall Semester (August - December) - Submission Date: May 20th
Spring Semester (January - June) - Submission Date: November 20th
Note: Requests received after these dates will be considered on a space-available basis depending on district capacity.
Selection and Safety Clearance
The Office of Talent and Instruction will review all university applications and collaborate with building principals to identify an appropriate mentoring teacher. The district may request a brief virtual or in-person interview with the candidate before finalizing the arrangement.
Once a tentative placement is made, the candidate's university or the candidate must coordinate with our Human Resources department to complete all state-mandated security and safety protocols before entering a classroom:
● State and National fingerprint-based criminal history records check.
● Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) child abuse and neglect registry clearance.
● Signed acknowledgment of Plainfield Public Schools' student confidentiality agreements (FERPA), Employee Guide and technology acceptable use policies.
Current Plainfield Public Schools Employees in Educator Placement Programs (EPP)
Plainfield Public Schools encourages employees who are continuing their education and seeking teacher certification. Current employees working toward certification should work directly with their building principal regarding observations and coursework requests that may take them out of their regularly assigned duties. Employees who need to complete a formal student teaching placement as part of their EPP program certification should work directly with Natasha Hutchinson, Assistant Superintendent for Talent and Instruction.