In some of the most formative weeks of a new teacher’s career, Morgan Pellettera of the Employee Development Department works to ensure that student teachers in San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) have the tools to succeed.

Pellettera runs the student teacher placement program at SBCUSD, bringing an experienced classroom teacher’s perspective to ensure that student teachers get the support they need during their four-month experience.

“Student teaching is such an integral piece of the teacher training program,” says Pellettera, a San Bernardino Teachers Association (SBTA) member. “It can make or break a teacher.”

Pellettera says the effort is purposeful and intentional, providing the professional development, coaching and mentoring that student teachers need, and giving them an experience that makes SBCUSD feel like home. A high school English teacher for 15 years before becoming the placement coordinator, Pellettera has mentored numerous student teachers and says she knows the support and skills they need to be successful.

When Pellettera began overseeing the program in early 2018, she changed the district’s process for selecting student and mentor teachers, contacting all current educators and developing a database of interested master teachers from across 72 schools to match with students. With more than 25 university partnerships, matching mentors with student teachers needs to be intentional and purposeful, she says. Pellettera looks for educators who are teacher leaders at their sites, including demonstration teachers, induction mentors, different types of coaches, department chairs and pathway leads. She says it’s important to note that many teachers who haven’t had the opportunity to serve in those roles can also be great mentors.

“Our student teachers are saying this is an incredible experience. The experts are already in the room — these are the people we need to train the next generation of teachers.”
—Morgan Pellettera, San Bernardino Teachers Association

“A teacher who shows great interest and passion in serving a future teacher is someone we want to have mentor our student teachers,” she says.

Master teacher Michael Doll and student teacher Randi Kinkade (right) support students during a math lesson.

While support previously ended after the placement, Pellet-tera wanted to create a “student teacher experience,” complete with professional development with master teachers to share best practices and a network of support for mentor educators to help them best support their student teachers.

The result is a district full of master teachers who feel ready to support a student teacher and a program that retains between 30 and 40 percent of its student teachers, according to Pellettera.

“So many of our student teachers are saying this is an incredible experience. We’ve done a great job at creating this real community,” says Pellettera, a National Board Certified Teacher. “The experts are already in the room — these are the people we need to train the next generation of teachers.”

Pellettera’s work is also making the program more efficient, as she finds and matches mentors and students and recommends pairings to principals, cutting weeks out of the process. During the distance-learning year in 2020, she placed more than 400 student teachers, including Rosario Villalobos, who now teaches at Jones Elementary School in SBCUSD and is a member of SBTA.

“Seeing another experienced teacher teach their students was a calming and enlightening experience,” Villalobos says. “It provided me insight without having to be thrown into a classroom.”

The approach has garnered attention from nearby districts— Pellettera says she shared her process with colleagues in Riverside and Fontana and they changed their own student teacher placement processes. She’s excited to share SBCUSD’s work they’re doing to prepare the teachers of tomorrow, which is also the subject of her current doctoral dissertation. The only former teacher in her role that she knows of, Pellettera says she can’t believe that she gets to be a part of setting student teachers up for success in San Bernardino.

Student teacher Stacey Newcomer and master teacher Amber Carney, ready for another exciting day in second grade.

“We have incredible veteran teachers who are ready to share their knowledge and expertise with student-teachers. We must pay that forward,” she says. “We’re training the future of our profession. If not us, then who?

By the Numbers

Last school year, Morgan Pellettera placed 235 student teachers with master educators in San Bernardino City Unified School District classrooms. Working with more than 25 universities, including CSU San Bernardino and UC Riverside, she says she usually places 100 percent of student teachers the district sends her (student teachers provide their university programs with their top three school district choices to get a placement). The length of the placement and hours they will student teach depends on the university program — UC Riverside’s program is all school year, while La Sierra University requires 420 hours. The average is 14 to 16weeks, says Pellettera. Master teachers earn small stipends pro-vided by the university. Pellettera says these range from $100 for the length of the fieldwork to $600 for 18 weeks. Student teachers are not compensated, but they can apply to be substitutes for their master teachers.