A Word About the 100-Hour Fieldwork Requirement for Pre-Service Students

The New York State Education Department recently mandated that students seeking their first teaching certification must have 100 hours of field experience linked to coursework before undertaking student teaching. In addition, students must have the opportunity to visit high-needs classrooms in urban, suburban and rural districts. The designated high-needs districts in our BOCES region are Binghamton, Johnson City and Harpursville; students must spend time in one of these districts (primarily Binghamton) during their field experiences and/or student teaching.

Our school designed these experiences to be valuable and meaningful. We believe that purposeful fieldwork will help you become a stronger teacher.

Although the school will try to accommodate students with extenuating circumstances, we cannot waive the 100-hour requirement. And, although prior teaching experience is valuable, it cannot count toward meeting the new 100-hour requirement.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns about field experience, contact Tami Mann, senior staff assistant in the Graduate School of Education at 607-777-5322 or tmann@binghamton.edu.

See also: Field Experience: What You Need to Know