Cooperating Teachers

Nutrition graduate students and student teaching

Cooperating Teachers

Cooperating teachers serve as mentors, models and instructors to student teachers; they are one of TC's most valuable resources.  By welcoming a novice into their classroom (remotely or in-person), cooperating teachers demonstrate their willingness to:

  • guide student teachers in planning and implementing curriculum
  • support student teachers in developing their personal teaching style
  • encourage questions, open discussion and dialogue
  • monitor and assess the many aspects of each student teacher's growth
  • challenge, re-direct, question and explain according to the needs of the pre-service student

If you are a TC Cooperating teacher, thank you so much for your service!  Please explore this site to learn more about resources and benefits that are available to you. 

Handbook

This handbook provides resources and information you'll need to support student teachers in your role as Cooperating Teacher.

Cooperating Teacher Handbook

 

Cooperating Teacher Survey

For every semester in which you host a student teacher, please complete the survey below to fulfill college accreditation purposes. 

Cooperating Teacher Survey

OTE Benefits for Cooperating Teachers

In addition to the benefits described below, Cooperating Teachers receive the benefit of invitations to TC events that are open to the entire TC education community!  If you are a TC cooperating teacher and you believe that you have not been receiving emails about events and other benefits, reach out to ote@tc.edu to ensure that you are added to our mailing list. 

The Office of Teacher Education offers TC tuition vouchers to Cooperating Teachers who host TC student teachers. This benefit encourages New York City teachers to explore course offerings here at TC, supports the funding of doctoral students who are also acting as cooperating teachers, and tightens the couplings between Teachers College and our partner schools. CT Vouchers are valid for only four semesters after the semester in which a CT hosted a student teacher.

If you are interested in applying for a CT Voucher, please read this document carefully!

Policies and Procedures for CT Tuition Vouchers

Do not complete this form until you have formally registered for a course through the myTC portal. For details on how to do this, including steps for applying to be a non-degree candidate, please see our Policies and Procedures for Tuition Vouchers document (above).

Tuition Voucher Request Form

 

Cooperating Teachers who have hosted a student teacher in one of the previous four semesters may apply for a full semester of access to the Teachers College Library system’s online resources. The Library system is able to grant access to 10 Cooperating Teachers per semester, and access will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis to Cooperating Teachers who meet the criteria for this opportunity.

If you are interested in applying for the TC Library Benefit, please read this document carefully!

CT Library Benefit Policies

Please do not complete this application until you have completed a semester of service as a Cooperating Teacher. See the CT Library Benefit Policies (above) for details.

CT Library Benefit Application

TC Cooperating Teacher Eligibility

Teachers College adheres to several Cooperating Teacher eligibility requirements, which reflect city and state guidelines:  

  • Cooperating Teachers are expected to have 3 or more years of full-time teaching experience.
  • Cooperating Teachers should be certified in the same area that the student teacher is preparing for, or a closely related area.
  • Cooperating Teachers cannot host a student teacher without the approval of their principal.
  • Cooperating Teachers must be full-time employees in the school where the student teacher is completing their student teaching experience.  Cooperating Teachers who are classroom teachers host the student teacher in their classroom and provide consistent mentorship, typically for a full semester.  Cooperating Teachers who are out-of-classroom teachers (such as SETSS providers) allow the student teacher to shadow them throughout the school day. In cases where neither of the above is true, written approval from TC’s Office of Teacher Education must be obtained. 

In addition, many TC programs adhere to additional program-level requirements for Cooperating Teacher eligibility. This allows our student teachers to meaningfully support partner classrooms as they take up a variety of formats across the year.  If you are interested in hosting a TC student teacher, please reach out to ote@tc.edu. 

Cooperating Teacher FAQs

Cooperating teachers do indeed become eligible for a tuition voucher each semester that they host. Please carefully read our Policies and Procedures for Tuition Vouchers to learn how to apply this benefit. Step-by-step instructions are on page 2.

Yes. CT Vouchers are valid for only four semesters after the semester in which a CT hosted a student teacher, and summers count as one semester. For example, a voucher earned in Fall 2018 can be used in Spring 2019, Summer 2019, Fall 2019, and Spring 2020. Expired vouchers cannot be used toward coursework at Teachers College.

If we determine that you are eligible for the voucher for which you have applied, we will produce it on your behalf, send you a confirmation email, and share the voucher with the Bursar’s Office. However, the Bursar does not apply payment until the first two weeks of the semester in which you are taking your class.

Contact Us

Teacher Education @TC

Address: 411 Zankel Building

Box: 97 Phone: 212-678-4057 Email: ote@tc.edu

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