School Placement Information

On this page:

• Arranging a Field Experience Site
• Application Process
• Background Check Report
• Orientations
• Placement Notification

Arranging a Field Experience Site

The Office of Partnerships and Field Experiences arranges all placements in conjunction with and at the recommendation of school district administrators.  

• Candidates are not permitted to arrange their own placements. 
• OPFE places candidates within an approximate 30-mile radius of Dayton campus.
• .When possible, OPFE takes into consideration a candidate's current address of residence on file with OPFE 
  • If a candidate wishes to request a change in placement, the candidate must complete a "Request for Field Experience Reassignment" form. This form may be obtained by emailing the OPFE Director. 
• Candidates may be required to complete specific requests, unique to particular school sites, to be approved for placements. Examples include but are not limited to: taking copies of background checks to the school, completing a physical examination, and taking and passing a drug screening. 
• OPFE must have a current affiliation agreement on file with a school district to allow placement. 
• We strive to place teacher candidates in a variety of school settings, considering demographic and geographic characteristics of schools. (See ODEW's Typology of School Districts). To give all teacher candidates an array of formal supervised field experiences in various settings, candidates will be placed in a minimum of three different settings for the duration of their education preparation journey at Wright State. Educator preparation faculty encourage candidates to take advantage of this policy and to embrace the plan of three different settings.  If candidates seek to return to a prior field setting for a final student teaching experience, candidates must have fulfilled the requirement of attending three different school settings in the semesters prior to the yearlong or student teaching experience. 
  • Elementary education candidates may choose to take the optional ED 2750 field course to achieve 3 different settings prior to the yearlong or student teaching experience.
  • All other program candidates may take ED 2750 again, as a repeatable course, to achieve 3 different settings prior to the yearlong or student teaching experience. 
• We will not place candidates in:
  • Schools/Districts where the candidate attended within the past 10 years.
  • Schools/Districts where family members/personal friends of the candidate currently attend or work.
  • Schools where candidates completed a prior field experience (unless 3 different settings are documented from prior experiences).
  • Schools/Districts where the candidate solicits his/her/their own placement.
• Candidates with exceptional circumstances may email the Director of the Office of Partnerships and Field Experiences to request an appeal form asking for an exception to the placement policy. Exceptions are rare. Appeals must contain supporting evidence.  Appeals will be reviewed if submitted by the deadline.

Deadlines for Placement Application:

• Fall: January 15
• Spring: September 15

Deadlines for Placement Policy Appeals:

• Fall: January 30
• Spring: September 30
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Application Process

Candidates MUST complete the online application by the appropriate term's deadline. This notifies the Office of Partnerships & Field Experiences (OPFE) to secure a field placement site for you, along with eliminating possible registration difficulties. Candidates who submit the application on time and meet the requirements will receive first consideration. All applicants who submit after the deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Late applicants are not guaranteed a placement. Candidates are notified via email of their application acceptance. Placements are posted on Watermark Student Learning and Licensure (WMSLL) via Pilot closer to the actual term.

Anticipated Term	Application Due
Fall Semester	Always January 15th (during prior spring term)
Spring Semester	Always September 15th (during prior fall term)

Please do not wait until the last minute to submit your online application request for a field assignment. You must submit a new application for each field experience. The only time this does not apply is for final yearlong student teaching experiences. This is noted as one application for the entire yearlong placement. 

Apply for Field Placement
 

Background Check Report

Schools hosting our teacher candidates require that they have current BCI and FBI background check reports prior to beginning the placement and continuing throughout the placement. This is mandated by the State of Ohio for the safety of students in the PK-12 schools. OPFE recommends completing these background checks about 6-7 weeks before the start of the placement term. Completed background checks are not required to apply for a field placement; they are needed to participate in the field placement. 

Alternative sites in Greene and surrounding counties for background checks (PDF)

Please have your background checks sent to:

Wright State University, CHEH, Attn:  OPFE
120 Millett Hall
3640 Colonel Glenn Highway
Dayton, OH  45435

Background check policy (PDF)
 

Orientations

Notifications about attending an orientation will be sent to candidates through Wright State email. Candidates should be sure to check their email accounts on a regular basis and RSVP to the appropriate session. These are always held during finals week.
 

Field Placement Notification

• Placement information will be shared with candidates once:
  • Candidates have met the GPA and/or program requirements to begin field placement.
  • Candidates have up-to-date and valid background checks on file with OPFE.
  • Candidates have established their Pre-Service Teacher Permit with Ohio.
  • Candidates are registered for the correct field experience course and section.
  • Candidates have attended any required field placement orientations. 
  • OPFE has received confirmation from the building/district administrator.
• Candidates will be notified via email when their placement details are posted. Placement details will also be available through Watermark Student Learning and Licensure (WMSLL). Candidates will receive directions to access this system. How to Guides about WMSLL will also be posted on all Field Course Pilot pages.

Candidate Removal Policy

Wright State University is committed to the success of every teacher candidate. Wright State University works with all involved parties to ensure a positive experience for the candidate, the cooperating teacher, and the P-12 students. Despite these efforts, situations may arise in which a candidate may be removed from the candidate's field experience placement site. Teacher candidates are guests of the school in which they are placed. If the field experience placement site asks a candidate to leave for any reason, the candidate must immediately comply.

• Explanation of our removal policy (PDF)