[ Hiring and Enrolling] [ Mentoring and Supervision ]
[ Documenting the Internship]

Under the ARTC legislation, schools and districts are responsible for:

• hiring ARTC teachers;
• orienting ARTC candidates to school programs and policies;
• intensively mentoring and supervising candidates in lieu of the student-teaching requirement;
• documenting the internship year in lieu of student teaching and making a certification recommendation.

Districts also guide candidates through the process of obtaining heath and criminal background checks, and provide opportunities to visit the classrooms of master teachers.

HIRING AND ENROLLING AN ARTC TEACHER

Schools and districts make all decisions regarding hiring and retention of ARTC teachers. Once hired, districts confirm eligibility of potential candidates with the ARTC office and then request enrollment in the program.

To facilitate this process, candidates should, whenever possible, establish eligibility with the ARTC office prior to looking for a job and always have an official or unofficial college transcript available at the time of interview.

back to top

MENTORING AND SUPERVISION

The candidate’s school provides intensive on-the-job mentoring and supervision in lieu of the student teaching normally required for certification. This must be provided for at least 30 weeks and may continue for up to two years.

ARTC teachers complete the same new teacher mentoring program as all other new teachers. A mentor is an experienced, specially trained classroom teacher who helps and supports the ARTC teacher. He or she has no role in evaluating the candidate's classroom performance.

In addition, a school SUPERVISOR (usually a principal or assistant principal) observes and evaluates ARTC candidates' performance in the classroom. The ARTC legislation requires that this be done within the first 10 weeks of teaching and at least twice more over at least the next 20 weeks, at no more than 2-month intervals. The supervisor prepares a formal written progress report ("lesson analysis") based on each observation.

back to top

DOCUMENTING THE INTERNSHIP

At the end of the ARTC year, the principal submits a "comprehensive evaluation report" to the school or district Human Resources Department. This report includes the supervisor's classroom observations, a final performance appraisal, and a recommendation whether a certificate should be issued. At least 2 of the 3 evaluations must be "satisfactory" to support the recommendation for certification.

At the completion of the program, the HR Department submits a form to the Department of Education verifying these documents. If a candidate leaves the school or district before completing all elements of the program, the HR Department may separately verify completion of the internship requirement to DOE.

Candidates must receive this report at least 20 days before submission to DOE, and those who disagree may follow an appeals process outlined in the Delaware Code.

back to top