Partner with Us

Are you a local public school teacher who wants to share your passion for teaching with up-and-coming new educators? If so, please consider becoming a “cooperating teacher” and opening your classroom to student teachers from our master’s program.

What is a cooperating teacher?

UC Santa Cruz’s combined California SB2042 Preliminary Teaching Credential and Master of Arts Degree in Education requires teacher candidates in our program to be placed with “cooperating teachers” in public elementary, middle, and high school classrooms throughout Santa Cruz County and other nearby counties. Cooperating teachers invite teacher candidates into their classrooms, where the candidates observe and support learning activities and have opportunities to demonstrate their own professional competencies around curriculum development, lesson planning and presentation, classroom management, student engagement, assessment and evaluation, communication skills, and engaging students with the curriculum.

Teacher candidates are supported during this experience by teacher supervisors from our program. Since student teaching is crucial for our students’ professional preparation, we seek to place them with exemplary cooperating teachers who are recommended by their school’s principal, have good relationships with pupils and colleagues, model effective teaching practices, and use a diverse, balanced, standards-based instructional program. Cooperating teachers should have at least three years of successful public school teaching experience and will need to be willing to accommodate program requirements.

How it works

Teacher supervisors from our program work with school principals to identify prospective cooperating teachers and to make thoughtful student teaching assignments. Specific grade-level and subject-area placements are informed by candidates’ academic preparation, interests, goals, and state requirements. Cooperating teachers should hold the same credential the teacher candidate is seeking

Placement schools are required to meet the following criteria:

Demonstrate commitment to collaborative, evidence-based practices and continuous program improvement
Have partnerships with appropriate other educational, social, and community entities that support teaching and learning
Place students with disabilities in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Provide robust programs and support for English learners
Reflect to the extent possible socioeconomic and cultural diversity
Permit video capture for candidate reflection and TPA completion
Have a fully qualified site administrator.

Benefits of becoming a cooperating teacher

Working with student teachers can be a fun and rewarding experience. Hear from some of our current cooperating teachers below about their favorite aspects of participating in the program.

Example cooperating teacher name: Example school name
“I have worked with this program for the past three years, and I always appreciate the enthusiasm that student teachers bring to the classroom. It ends up being a nice boost for my own energy and creativity, and my middle-schoolers respond positively too.”

Example cooperating teacher name: Example school name
“The student teachers I’ve worked with through UC Santa Cruz have been exceptionally capable, so their help has actually allowed me to do more fun small-group activities with my students than I would have had the capacity to facilitate alone.”

Example cooperating teacher name: Example school name
“Working with student teachers has given me unexpected opportunities to grow in my own teaching practice. It’s an opportunity to reflect on what works about my own style and approach and be exposed to new ideas that I can incorporate.”

Resources for current cooperating teachers

Cooperating Teacher Handbook 2023-2024

Professional Development

The Commission on Teacher Credentialing requires that first-time cooperating teachers engage in 10 hours of professional development on effective mentoring, for which they earn five quarter credits of Continuing Education. The cost is $250. We also encourage experienced cooperating teachers to continue engaging with any of these opportunities that are of personal interest. At the end of May, we ask our cooperating teachers to provide information on which professional development opportunities they participated in.

Professional Development Modules available through the UC Irvine School of Education:

A large number of professional development modules are also available through the Vanderbilt IRIS Center.