Went to an AWESOME training yesterday at my FCSTAT conference put on by Kay Irlas called, Career Preparation and Practicum Training!  It provided some much needed information for how our practicum classes should be implemented to give our students a positive & rewarding experience!

Here are a few highlights from the presentation and pulled from the CTE Student Attendance Accounting Handbook:

1. All teachers that are teaching a “Practicum or Career Prep Class” have to be trained and receive a certificate
2. Practicum classes MUST have instructional time every week (provided by a certified FCS educator)
3. Practicum students MUST be given 6 evaluations a year (provided by a certified FCS educator)
4. All students that are working with children, should be background checked.

With this new found knowledge…do we really feel we are providing our students with a successful practicum in education training by bringing in a teacher for 6 weeks to lay the foundation and sending unsupervised teenagers on a bus to the feeder Elementary school with NO further instructional time or observations for the remainder of the year?!?