Secondary Education Program - Internship Information :

For more detailed information on the MCERT Secondary Internship, please download a copy of the MCERT Secondary Internship Handbook.

 

Full Year Internship
All secondary graduate interns are assigned a 1/2 time teaching apprenticeship that spans the full school year. Usually this means an assignment of 2-3 classes per day. In addition, all graduate interns are expected to be at school for the full day for planning, classroom observations, grading duties and to participate fully in their departmental and whole-school activities.

 

Support and Guidance within the Internship
All secondary graduate interns are assigned a school-based mentor, an experienced certified teacher in the student’s area of certification. In addition, all graduate interns receive support during the school year from a university-based supervisor, and a subject-based coordinator who are experienced educators in the area of the intern’s certification field. Whenever possible, graduate interns are placed in clusters in a department in a professional development school as part of building a peer-support network in addition to the mentor and university supervisor.

 

Paid Internship
In cooperation with MCPS (Montgomery County Public Schools), the MCERT Program makes available to selected students a paid internship opportunity for Secondary Education interns in the disciplines of Chemistry, Chinese, Mathematics, Physics and Spanish. MCERT students in these identified fields interview with MCPS in the late spring, and, if selected, are eligible for compensation commensurate with the level and nature of their independent teaching duties. In return for these benefits, paid interns must commit to two years of teaching in MCPS once they graduate and start their careers.
The paid intern is the teacher of record, for 2-4 classes per day, although they are supervised in that work by the on-site mentor and a university supervisor. Additionally, the intern works directly with their mentor, as a teaching apprentice for one class a day.

 

Unpaid Internship
The unpaid internship option is available to students in all secondary content areas, including: Art, English, Foreign Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and TESOL. Unpaid interns are expected to be at school the entire day and to participate as staff members in a variety of school-activities, but they are formally assigned a 1/2 time teaching apprenticeship. Secondary certification unpaid interns apprentice in 2-3 classes per day for the entire school year under the direct supervision of an appropriate mentor teacher, who remains as the teacher of record throughout the year.