General Information
16 KAR 5:040 states that an educator preparation institution shall provide opportunities for a student teacher to assume major responsibility for the full range of teaching duties, including extended co-teaching experiences, in a real school situation under the guidance of qualified personnel from the educator preparation institution and the cooperating elementary, middle, or high school. It is also states that an educator preparation institution shall provide a full professional semester to include a period of student teaching for a minimum of seventy (70) full days, or its equivalent, in instructional settings that correspond to the grade levels and content areas of the student teacher’s certification program.
Compensation for Cooperating Teachers
Compensation from the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the potential to have tuition waived (up to 6 credit hours) at one of the state’s eight (8) public universities, is provided to any Kentucky school teacher who is serving as a cooperating teacher or supervising a student teacher for an in-state accredited college or university, who has a valid Kentucky teaching certificate or license for each grade and subject taught, and at least 3 years teaching experience.
Colleges and Universities have until September 30 for the fall semester and February 1 of the spring semester to arrange and enter field placement data into the Cooperating Teacher Payment Program on the Kentucky Educator Credentialing System (KECS).
After that date, cooperating teachers and university supervisors will need to electronically sign their voucher by logging into the KECS (If you do not have a username and password, you may create them by clicking on “Register”) Under “General” click on the “Cooperating Teacher” tab to view and complete your voucher.
All Cooperating Teacher Payment Vouchers must have the two required signatures by December 15th for the fall semester and May 1st for the spring semester. Payments for both the fall and spring semester will be processed by June of the current academic year. Payment will be sent to each public school district for distribution to individual teachers, and compensation for teachers in private or parochial schools will be sent directly to their homes. If your voucher is incomplete or inaccurate, please contact KDE Program Coordinator Brandon Harrod at (502) 892-6644 or via email brandon.harrod@education.ky.gov
For more information regarding the requirements for cooperating teaching, please reference regulation 16 KAR 5:040.
