Student Teaching Program

District 33 invites you to apply to become part of our extraordinary team of educators!

Our cooperating teachers are highly talented educators who are passionate about education, make decisions based on what is best for our students, and are always eager to continue their professional learning, as well as share their expertise within our professional learning communities in order to continue cultivating lifelong learners in and out of the classroom.

Additionally, our cooperating teachers have proven records on the following criteria:

Educator experience (at least three years of experience)
Positive impact on student learning
Collaboration with colleagues
Mentoring and Professional Development

District 33 works in partnership with accredited colleges and universities in the placement of student teachers, in order to provide the best experience possible! We seek to cultivate and maintain an inclusive environment in which student teachers feel as though they have just signed their first teaching contract and are embraced as a highly valued team member!

View/download the Student Teaching and Internship Program Information

Student Teaching/Internship "Perks"

You will feel you are part of our team of extraordinary educators!

You will be guaranteed a job interview in our district!

Process & Procedures

Application Process

Application Process for Student Teaching and Internships

A student teacher or intern's university supervisor or placement coordinator must contact the Department of Human Resources to request a placement.
To be considered for a student teaching placement or internship in our district, it is required to pass a background check and provide evidence of a physical and current TB test.

Student teachers and Interns will love becoming a member of our inclusive professional community and be guaranteed an interview for open positions upon completion of the student teaching/internship experience!

Placement Procedures

Student Teaching & Internship Procedures for Placement

Interested student teachers or interns may be invited to interview with Human Resources or another administrator. An invitation to interview with us is not a guarantee of placement. Requests will be processed based on student teacher/internship requirements and qualifications, as well as the number of cooperating teachers available in the content requested areas. When a placement request is approved or denied, both the student teacher/intern applicant and their university will receive a formal acceptance or rejection notification by email from the Department of Human Resources.

Please remember:

Schools, principals, or teachers should not be directly contacted about student teaching/internship placements.
Respond promptly to any communication you receive from the Department of Human Resources.
Always keep your email contact information current.

Students who have been approved for a student teaching placement or internship with District 33 will need to provide the following documents to the Department of Human Resources prior to their placement:

A physical exam (fitness for duty) must be performed by a licensed healthcare provider stating that the individual is healthy and free of communicable diseases.
A current negative TB test.
A fingerprint background check*.
- Contact Dr. Sarah Burnett at burnetts@wego33.org to receive information regarding fingerprinting.

*Results can take up to 2 weeks to arrive. It’s highly recommended that you take care of this as soon as possible.

Once all documents have been received, we look forward to welcoming you onto our West Chicago District 33 team to begin the student teaching/internship experience!

Selection Process

Student Teaching & Internship Selection Process and Guidelines

The number of student teachers and interns accepted varies from year to year based upon the number of available cooperating teachers in the content area, program changes, and other district factors.

First Priority: Dual Language (Spanish) Students and Bilingual Psychologists

Due to our school having a robust dual language program Preschool through Middle School grades, we are committed to placing at a minimum, 2 Spanish speaking (bilingual/dual language) student teachers per school. We are also seeking student teachers whose placement is in the area of Middle School Grades 6th - 8th Dual Language (Spanish) in the content areas of Language Arts and Social Studies.

Second Priority: Current Educational Support Personnel/District Employees

Any non-certified district employee who is majoring in education while simultaneously working for the district may opt to student teach in one of our schools. If employees select to participate in the BEST program in D33, they will not need to take a leave of absence during their student teaching experience. Contact the Department of Human Resources for more information on this program.

Dual Language Students in other languages or other content areas & SLPs

This could be bilingual student teachers in areas such as special education, middle school grade levels in Math and Science, and Speech Language Pathologists.

Third Priority: Other Applicants

Other applicants who are not considered to be included in any of the above priority areas may be considered based on the number of available cooperating teachers.