Your intern will also have a supervisor who will act on our behalf. Supervisors are experienced educators. They are retired teachers and principals or faculty members. The supervisor will only visit the intern 7 times. So you can see how important it will be for you to meet with the supervisor during every school visit to discuss the intern's progress and any questions you might have.  In addition, exchange emails and phone numbers to facilitate communication at other times as needed.

During the first week or earlier if possible, your intern needs to schedule an initial meeting with you and their supervisor. Help your intern determine a couple convenient times to meet for about 1 hour. If there are other interns at your school, the supervisor will want to meet with all of you at the same time and schedule future meetings on the same day. Not only does this foster collegiality but also is fiscally responsible as it reduces our mileage reimbursement costs. The supervisor facilitates the initial meeting. The initial meeting also serves as your orientation. If the supervisor is unable to answer your questions, please feel free to email us at ofx@unr.edu.

The role of lead teacher is a complex one. Interns will turn to you for ideas, guidance, feedback, and support. We ask that you, among other things:

• provide continuous mentoring and feedback to the intern;
• expect, review and approve every lesson plan every time;
• remain accessible to the intern throughout the school day;
• communicate regularly with the supervisor;
• informally observe the intern daily and formally observe the intern 5 times;
• allow the intern to gradually assume 4 weeks of full control (3-weeks for duals) after midpoint.
• encourage the intern to try new things;
• share ideas and resources;
• be frank in your discussions with the intern;
• set aside time to meet daily;
• address issues as they arise;
• take advantage of teachable moments;
• minimize the intern's anxiety level;
• demonstrate and model what you expect from your intern;
• encourage camaraderie and collegiality;
• set ground rules and clear expectations;
• talk about your choices, successes and failures;
• provide positive feedback rather than constructive criticism;
• check that the intern's assignments are completed satisfactorily;
• use the working document throughout to complete evaluations;
• stay involved throughout the internship; and
• support the University of Nevada, Reno College of Education.

Most importantly, remember you are ultimately responsible for what goes on in your classroom.

Please fill out the Lead Teacher full control form.

Look at the intern as a student teacher and not as an experienced teacher. They are not yet your colleagues, they are your student. As your intern becomes more independent, this is actually when they need your support the most. Monitor your intern’s progress as you would one of your own students. If they need more direction or practice, don’t hesitate to give it to them. Use the working document throughout the internship to record progress, notes and examples for use later when you formally evaluate the intern. The working document is the basis of our evaluation instruments and is based on the interstate New Teachers Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) Standards for beginning teacher behaviors and dispositions.  See the Internship Manual for more information and the evaluation rubric.

The intern will be evaluated using the 5 Domains of Professional Competence: knowledge of students, knowledge of subject matter and planning, delivery and management of instruction, knowledge and use of assessment, and professionalism. The Domains of Professional Competence are those qualities we believe beginning teachers must have. These domains are based on the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC). Internship requirements and activities are designed to help the intern achieve these professional competencies. Interns should receive intensive modeling, assistance, and feedback as well as opportunities to improve. You will also complete the following evaluation documents: working document, 5 formal classroom observations, midpoint progress report, professional behavior and dispositions evaluation of intern, evaluation of supervisor, and the final evaluation of the intern. It is crucial that you familiarize yourself with this website and, in particular, carefully read the Internship Manual.

The College of Education provides a $250 stipend to lead teachers for their time and effort. When two or more lead teachers share an intern, the stipend is split accordingly. We know this is a mere token of our appreciation and we hope the real reward will come from mentoring your intern and giving back to our profession.

Please complete the lead teacher pay information form during the first week of internship.

Internship is like learning to cook in your mother-in-law's kitchen or build in your father-in-law's shop. The intern wants to please you and do the best job possible but they will make mistakes. They need your guidance and mentorship. Internship may be the hardest teaching any of us have ever done because, at no other time in your career, have you had as many people watching everything you do. As a lead teacher, you are not producing a finished product but rather you are coaching, mentoring, and guiding the intern to discover his or her own style and reach their potential. Treat your intern as you would like to have been treated during your own internship. This should be an enjoyable experience for you and the intern.

Please make a point of speaking with the supervisor every time they visit. Because of fiscal restraints, the supervisor will only make 7 visits:

• The Initial Meeting will be done preferably during the first week or earlier.
• The first formal observation will be made after the second week when the intern has started teaching a little.
• The second observation will be done at the midpoint of internship and will be combined with the Midpoint Progress Report and conference.
• Observations 3, 4 and 5 will be completed between midpoint and just before the next to last week of internship.
• The Final Evaluation and conference will be finished during the next to last week of internship.

Of course, please feel free to contact the supervisor by email and phone as necessary. Additional visits may be scheduled when an intern is having difficulty.

WebCampus will be used to deliver seminars.  This means the intern will not miss school because they can access the information anytime, anywhere.

• First week - Lead Teacher Information form
• Before midpoint - 2 formal observations by lead teacher
• Midpoint - Midpoint Progress Report and conference with the supervisor and intern.
• After midpoint - 3 formal observations by lead teacher
• Throughout:
  • Keep the 'Working Document' up-to-date
  • Review intern's assignments and sign Assignment Checklist
• Before internship ends - have a conversation with the supervisor about the final evaluation. Provide them with your final scores and justification statements (on the working document) so that they can enter them on the Intern's Final Evaluation form. This should be done when the supervisor does the 5th observation. If this is not convenient, then do this via phone and/or email.
• Next to last week:
  • Have the Final evaluation conference with the intern and supervisor.
  • Evaluate supervisor.