** If you are in an UMBC Department of Education internship (Phase I or Phase II) and are not receiving email notifications from the OFECP, PDS@Umbc.edu , please contact PDS@UMBC.EDU immediately! **
Updated March 24, 2020 at 11:08 am
Official Message from the Office of Field Experience and Clinical Practice
Internship Guidance and Update
We thank you for your patience as we wait for direction from districts and MSDE. During our meeting today we worked to determine some concrete tasks for you to continue to work on during this waiting period.
First, if you haven’t already, please start keeping a log and work backward to fill it in as best you can for last week. You may log however you feel comfortable–or example, a word processing document (Google Docs or Word) or spreadsheet. In your log include:
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Date
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Activity: in brief, detail a couple of sentences about the work you did–i.e. instructional planning, grading papers, working online with mentor/supervisor, phone call, or online PD lesson on Google classroom (see below)
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Number of hours spent
We would like everyone to take a look at Google Classroom’s online modules: Google Level 1 and Google Level 2. We are proposing using these two online modules as professional development and believe will be beneficial to your understanding of creating and conducting online instruction. Taking these online modules should be in your Internship Log under “professional development.” Please hold off on taking either of the exams. IT is working with Google to see if we can either pay in bulk for Level 1 Exam and/or if the fees can be waived, so at this point, do not take the exams unless you want to pay for them yourselves; we will not be able to reimburse you after the fact.
We do not yet have a platform for you to upload this information, so as of now, please keep it on your computer until we figure out the next step. We believe the log will serve as important documentation, so please be as accurate as possible.
At this point, our general expectation is that you spend 3-4 hours per day on your internship as you balance your classes, family, life, and this ‘new normal.’ We encourage you to spend some time with your family, take a walk, play a game, or Google Hangout with friends. Our assumption is that everyone is doing their best in these unusual circumstances. If your mentor does not have anything for you to work on at this point, that’s okay, you can work on the Google Classroom modules.
If you need to talk to someone, please reach out to OFECP or your program. We are happy to help! Stay well!
Thank you,
OFECP
Updated March 13, 2020 at 8:22 am
Official Message from the Office of Field Experience and Clinical Practice
UMBC Education Internship During State-wide School Closure
Dear Interns,
As you have all likely heard, Maryland’s Superintendent of Schools and the Governor have closed Maryland schools for two weeks starting Monday, March 16, 2020. UMBC as well as other USM teacher prep programs (e.g. Towson, College Park) are in contact with MSDE to provide guidance regarding internship requirements, so take a deep breath, and we will update you as soon as we hear from them.
The superintendent further recommended that districts use spring break to make up the missed days. Be prepared, if districts choose to make up the days over spring break and you had plans to travel over your district’s spring break, you will need to cancel them and be at your placement. It is our hope that schools will reopen on March 30, 2020 and you may resume your internship at that time.
Please be in contact with your mentor about any directive from your school, and work with your mentor if needed to gather materials for students to work on at home and to prepare for instruction when students return.
We appreciate your flexibility and understanding during this time. This is an unusual situation, and we will keep you updated as we have more information.
March 12, 2020
Official Message from the Office of Field Experience and Clinical Practice
As you know, in response to COVID-19, UMBC is following guidance from the University System of Maryland and will deliver courses and university services online for the two weeks following the UMBC spring break. You can follow the UMBC response to COVID-19 here. We are still awaiting more specific details about how this will impact interns, and we are committed to ensuring as much continuity in your internship as possible.
At this point, please review the following guidelines:
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Phase 2 interns are to remain at their internships as planned during UMBC’s spring break and during the two-weeks following spring break. Follow the same protocols as teachers and students in your districts.
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Interns should continue with all observations as planned. If supervisors are unable to come to schools because of social distancing measures either from the school or the supervisor, interns should make arrangements to video the lesson and share it with supervisors for review.
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As stated in the handbook, Phase 1 interns in a traditional internship will take the UMBC spring break as planned. Phase 1 interns who are traveling nationally or internationally in areas of concern according to the CDC guidelines should not attend their internship for 14 days after returning from the trip.
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Field Experience students will receive guidance from their programs.
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If you rely on campus housing/food services and have no alternative living arrangements, you should have contacted us yesterday. If not, please send your name and student ID number to PDS@umbc.edu with “Housing Needs” as the subject heading immediately. If you responded to our note yesterday and gave us your information we have notified resident life. Please be sure to also fill out the Application for Late Stay- COVID-19 Spring 2020 on the housing portal.
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If you have any other questions or extenuating circumstances regarding your internship that you think we should know about, email us at PDS@umbc.edu with “COVID-19 Closure Questions/Concerns” as the heading. We will try to get back with you as soon as we have the answers you need.
We appreciate your flexibility and understanding as we do our best to support you in your internship during this time. Be assured that we will maintain communication with you and advise you of any changes.
Thank you and stay well,
OFECP
Additional information from CDC:
Talking with children about Coronavirus Disease 2019
2022 May 11 – Removed district links as some pages have been fully removed from county sites.