■ COVID Guidance for Clinical Experience: During this academic year, you may complete field experience hours or student teaching in a school setting. Augsburg’s commitment to safety for our students and community remains at the forefront. If you are currently working in a school or will be working in a school, it is important to be aware of current COVID guidelines for the school districts.

Augsburg’s contract with school districts states that the school has the right to exclude from the Program any student who does not provide all information required under the school’s policies and procedures in a timely manner. School districts continue updating their guidelines regarding COVID-19 mitigation strategies like vaccination, wearing masks, social distancing, etc. For instance, starting October 15, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) will implement a vaccine requirement for staff and volunteers in the building. Augsburg students completing clinical experience (field experience or student teaching) at a Minneapolis school site must follow the District’s policy and processes for vaccination and testing.

Other sites may make updates to their COVID-19 guidelines. Any vaccination or testing requirements with school sites must be completed with the school site. As a clinical experience student, you are responsible for following the school site guidelines. Augsburg cannot send vaccination information to your school site. Make sure to watch for communication from your school for any changes in policies and procedures.

■ PELSB Variances for the Student Teaching Experience: In some cases, students may be eligible for special variances as it relates to the details of their student teaching experience due to COVID-19 restrictions. The variances are based on the need to have the flexibility for COVID-19 quarantine situations.

1) Student teachers do not have to have their 12 (or 14) weeks be a consecutive experience.  So, if they have to quarantine, we are able to add on the time to the end of their placement.  Student teachers are still expected to complete 12 (or 14) weeks to receive licensure.

2) Student teachers can have up to 4 weeks of their 12 (or 14) weeks in a virtual setting. This can be helpful if a student teacher is quarantined, but the classroom can be online and they are participating with students. Again, this is only if it is related to a COVID-19 quarantine.

Augsburg has submitted requests to receive these variances, so we will know soon if we can use these variances with student teachers who have to quarantine due to COVID-19. Please be sure to keep your Augsburg supervisor and Tiffany Moore, Coordinator for Student Teaching, updated with the details regarding if you are having to quarantine and to make sure additional days are added to the end of your placement to ensure that you qualify for licensure.

Reach out if you have any questions: Tiffany Moore, Coordinator for Student Teaching, Phone: 612-330-1154; Email: <mooret2@augsburg.edu>.

■ Fall 2022 Field Placement Information: Given the ongoing and uncertain impact of COVID-19 on K-12 classroom settings, we want to continue to provide you with various pathways to complete your field experience requirements. With this in mind, it is important to know that the state requirements for licensure remain the same:

Field Experience is required by the Professional Educator’s Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) for all students receiving their initial teaching license in the state of Minnesota:

1. 1. Complete 100 total field hours prior to student teaching
   2. At least 60 field experience hours that are aligned to the scope and content of the licensure field sought
   3. Experience with students who differ in race, ethnicity, home language, and socioeconomic status; and
   4. Experience with students with a range of exceptionalities, including students on an individualized education plan.

Please complete one of the following forms by 9/17 to communicate your field placement plans for this semester:

1. Complete the Secured Placement Form to document information about a field placement you have found on your own.
2. Complete the Placement Request Form if you need assistance from the field experience specialist to locate a placement for you.
3. Complete the Placement Deferral Form if you have chosen to postpone your field experience this semester.

These multiple pathways build upon the opt-in/opt-out model for field experience that was implemented last academic year. We hope this will give more flexibility to you during this challenging time as well as allow you to make decisions that will prioritize your health and safety. As you make decisions about what option is best for you, please consult with your faculty mentor and Emily Wollak.

Do you plan to transfer field hours from another institution? Use this form to transfer hours.

You will receive more information this semester about how to document your field experience hours and placement. In the meantime, please keep track of your hours and placement information with this form.

■ Online Licensure Application Process Announced: On Tuesday, December 8, 2020, the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) launched a new online license application system for initial licensure applicants. The new system is accessed at this link.

For those who have never previously held a file folder number with PELSB, an initial license application should be created through the PELSB online system. This will initiate the licensing process. At the end of the online application, a checklist will populate indicating any additional materials that must be mailed to the PELSB office. Please ensure that all materials are gathered and submitted in one packet before mailing.

Should you have any questions about the launch of the new online application system, please contact PELSB at <pelsb@state.mn.us> or by phone at 651-539-4200 (Tuesday-Thursday, 9am-12pm).

■ Minneapolis Kids: Minneapolis Kids is the school-age care component for Minneapolis Public Schools and serves youth in grades kindergarten through fifth grade. This school-age care program is socially and emotionally based and provides high-quality care that is safe, nurturing, educational, and recreationally focused where children are encouraged to pursue individual interests, develop friendships, independence, and confidence.

They are hiring for our Child Care Assistant (CCA) positions at several locations and are looking to get the word out about our employment opportunities. Shifts are before school, after school, or a combination of both and are great for Augsburg students looking for part-time hours. Wages start at $15.45 an hour and are eligible for benefits at 20 hours a week.

Here is a link to their current openings: Minneapolis Kids application <https://mplskids.mpls.k12.mn.us/Home>.

■ Upper Mississippi Academy: Upper Mississippi Academy is in immediate need of an 8th grade Science Teacher. If interested, go to: <https://umissacademy.org/uma-employment-opportunities/>.

■ Family Child Care Jobs: AmeriCorps has two positions available: a 25 hour/week position that pays $700 every two weeks, and a 12 hour/week position that pays $300 every two weeks. There are also added AmeriCorps perks such as student loan payment pauses and an education award at the end of the service year. The application deadline is October 6, so it’s coming up really fast.
Both positions have also recently received a stipend increase for the 21-22 service year, and members receive an education award upon completion (which can be used on existing loans or future education expenses up to 7 years after service)! For more information and the application link, click here.
https://join.readingandmath.org/careers-home/jobs?location=Minnesota&woe=8&stretchUnit=MILES&stretch=10&page=1&tags1=Family%20Child%20Care

■ Hiring for Community Coaches at Minnesota Urban Debate League: The Minnesota Urban Debate League is hiring for Community Coaches and several other roles. Community coaches are experienced debaters who want to share their expertise with students and collaborate with teacher coaches at our area schools. Applicants who competed in Policy/Cross-Examination, Lincoln Douglas, Parliamentary, Classic, or Public Forum debate as high schoolers/college students would be highly preferred.
The pay is $2,250 for the September-December season and judges are paid $55 a day to judge. Debate is a great way to earn a good amount of money as a coach or some nice weekend money as a judge – it’s also an excellent way to fulfill volunteer hours and work with students. Most importantly, it’s a fulfilling and fun experience! Contact Jake Swede at <swedej@augsburg.edu> if you fit the description and are interested!

■ COVID-19 Vaccine Connector Information: If you haven’t already done so, go to the vaccine connector website to sign up: <https://mn.gov/covid19/vaccine/connector/connector.jsp>.

Submitting news to Augsburg:

• To the Education Department News: Send your news to Joseph Erickson at C.B. 312 or erickson-AT-augsburg.edu.
• To the Augsburg Now published by the Augsburg University Office of Public Relations and Communication: Send your news to C.B. 145 or now@augsburg.edu.
• To the daily A-Mail electronic newsletter: Go to AugNet Home Page and login. Then click on the “Submit News and Announcements” link.

Connecting with Alumni and Friends:

Augsburg University provides several ways to stay connected with alumni and friends. Here are some links to get you started:

• Alumni Information Update: Submit news and contact information changes to the university’s Alumni Office.
• TC2 New Teachers’ Blog

Other Sources of News for K-12 Teachers:

Here are links to some of the very best online news sources for K-12 teachers:

• Education Week
• Teacher Magazine
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (also, subscribe to ASCD SmartBrief, a daily email news resource delivered right to your inbox).