How It Works

Placement Form

Once registered for an EDFE/EDIN course, students will receive an e-mail from the ISA Office directing them to a link to complete their Placement Form online. This form provides the Placement Coordinators with important information relative to searching for student placements, including whether or not a student has access to a car, is comfortable teaching in French, and whether or not they have friends/family in any schools in the Greater Montreal Area. This form should be completed by the deadline specified so that the Placement Coordinators may begin contacting host schools/school boards. 

NOTE FOR MATL STUDENT TEACHERS: If there is a discrepancy between what an MATL student noted in their application to the MATL program compared to what they note in their placement form, the Internships & Student Affairs (ISA) Office will follow up with the student and may defer to the response where the student indicated they are able to teach in French. Per the University's Policy Concerning Access to Records: "At the time of application, you would be asked to acknowledge that an admission granted based on incomplete, incorrect, or false information contained in your application or supporting documents may be revoked at the sole discretion of the University. The University reserves the right to revoke admission at any time."

Placement Details

Once the form is closed, Placement Coordinators process and organize the information received, and liaise with schools and school boards to find suitable placements. Student teachers are notified of their placement approx. 1-2 weeks before the start date.

Student teachers may NOT request new/different placements, suggest amendments to their assigned placement, or “switch” their placements with other student teachers. The ISA Office will not arrange a different placement and any requests for new placements may have to be delayed, potentially to the next time the placement is offered.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why are placement details released 1-2 weeks before the placement, and not much earlier?

ISA Placement Coordinators work for months to find placements for hundreds of student teachers, communicating with schools across and around Montreal. Placement availability and details are not always consistent or readily available, and our office can be notified by schools at any time about new placements, or have previously confirmed placement offers get rescinded. Generally, we only have confirmed details on placements (e.g. which school, which CT, which Supervisors…) 1-2 weeks ahead of the placement start date, and even in this period, we continue to seek and get updates on placements until the very day before the start. Rest assured that students are told about their placements as soon as we believe the majority (usually 90%) of student teachers have confirmed details that can be confidently released.

2. I made a request but was not placed according to my request; why?

When a student teacher makes a reasonable request for their placement, our Placement Coordinators make every effort to accommodate this request – provided it is not counter to ISA policies, and that there is an appropriate school with a suitable Cooperating Teacher, who is willing to host a student teacher, and that we can arrange for a supervisor for the placement. We trust that student teachers understand and appreciate that our office will try our hardest to accommodate requests, but of course we are subject to the availability and willingness of our partner schools.
FE1 and FE2 requests, in particular, are often difficult to accommodate because they are often done in pairs or cohorts of student teachers and therefore individual preferences may not apply or be possible.

Seeking Placements

Once the Placement Coordinators have received all data from the Placement Form, they can begin making requests for student teaching placements. The Placement Coordinators aim to place student teachers in order of their stated preference(s) (via the Placement Form) and/or as close to their home address as possible; however, it is important to remember that this is not always feasible.

Please see below for some general placement guidelines: 

• Field Experiences/Internships take place in host schools within school boards or private schools in the Greater Montreal Area
• Field Experiences/Internships CANNOT take place in post-secondary settings (i.e. CEGEPs, colleges, universities)
• Student Teachers are placed in English schools (with the exception of TESL students, who are placed in Francophone schools)
• Many English schools in the Greater Montreal Area are French Immersion or bilingual; for this reason, it is important to indicate on the Placement Form one's degree of comfort teaching in French (PIF students are expected to check 'Yes') 
• Student Teachers are placed with Co-operating Teachers who have been nominated by their School Administrator to serve as mentors; ISA does not correspond directly with CTs to arrange placements
• Co-operating Teachers must have at least 5 years of prior teaching experience and come recommended by their administration in order to serve as a mentor

To arrange a placement, the Placement Coordinator communicates with the appropriate board or directly with the School Administrator who, in turn, will review the requests that they have received from the school staff to serve as Co-operating Teachers for a given term. If there is a match relative to subject area and teaching load, a placement may be made.

Additional Considerations

• Students will not be placed in schools where they have relatives (members of the administration, teaching staff, student body and support staff).
• An effort is made to place students within reasonable traveling distance (defined as up to 1.5 hours of travel time each way by the assigned method of transportation) from their address as indicated on Minerva or within reasonable distance from the downtown McGill campus (since students must also be able to travel to campus during this term). However, circumstances vary, and this travel time cannot be guaranteed and may be beyond the 1.5 hours. Students must budget time and money for travel to and from their assigned school. For example, you may choose to seek access to a car, or you may need to purchase a transit pass for a different region.
• ISA prioritizes placing students in different schools and with different CTs for each field experience/internship to ensure a variety of experience
• Where appropriate, students will be placed in different grades/cycles throughout their program to ensure a variety of experience
• Students in TESL, Music, and Phys. Ed. will do FE3 or FE4 at either the elementary or secondary level and vice-versa (i.e. if FE3 is elementary, FE4 must be secondary if at all possible) 
• Students in the MATL TESL program should do two Internships, one at the elementary level and one at the secondary level - depending on host school availability.
• Students in Music will be placed in any type of Music classroom/program (e.g. Band, Orchestra, Strings, Orff, Wind, etc). Requests may be considered for certain programs; however, Music Education students are expected to do a placement in any Music Education program.
• Students in FE1 and FE2 are placed in pairs (Note that depending your location students may be placed alone.)
• Students in any placement may be paired
• *NEW* Students in all B.Ed. programs (except Secondary-English and TESL) and in MATL programs (except Secondary-English and TESL) may request placements in a French school, which will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis
• Students in the B.Ed. K/Elem PIF program will be placed in a French Immersion classroom (within an English school) - at minimum 1 of the FE3 or FE4 placements must be in a French Immersion classroom. K/Elem PIF students will also be placed in a French Immersion classroom in FE1 and FE2, depending on host school availability.
• Students in the B.Ed. K/Elem Jewish Studies program will be placed in a Jewish studies classroom (within a Jewish school) for FE3 and/or FE4 - at least 1 of these placements (FE3 or FE4) must be in a Jewish studies classroom. K/Elem Jewish Studies students may also be placed in a Jewish school (Jewish or general studies) in FE2, depending on host school availability.
• Students in the B.Ed. TESL Greek Language and Culture program will be placed in a Greek school for FE3 and/or FE4  - at least 1 of these placements (FE3 or FE4) must be in a Greek school. TESL Greek students may also be placed in a Greek school in FE2, depending on host school availability.
• Students cannot go to the same host school for FE3 and FE4 (B.Ed.) or IN1 and IN2, unless on contract for one/both Internships (MATL only)
• Alternative school placements are permitted for B.Ed. FE2 and FE4, as well as MATL Internship 2; however, the decision about whether to place a student in this context is at the discretion of the ISA Director. Alternative school placements may be exceptionally permitted for FE3 on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the ISA Director, provided the student has experience in this setting and there is a strong argument for doing their FE3 in an alternative school.
• Students in the B.Ed. and MATL Secondary ELA and Math programs may be placed in adult education centre placements. B.Ed. students are not permitted to be placed in an adult education centre for both FE3 and FE4; MATL students are not permitted to be placed in an adult education centre for IN1.     
• Distance placements (i.e outside of Greater Montreal) are permitted for B.Ed. FE4; MATL Internship students are not eligible to complete distance placements  

ISA's Commitment to Safe Spaces

• ISA staff are committed to nurturing a space, at McGill and in the field, where student teachers, Co-operating Teachers, Supervisors, ISA staff, and other relevant parties can all engage in the exchange of ideas and dialogue, without fear of being made to feel unwelcome or unsafe on account of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, race/ethnicity, religion, linguistic and cultural background, age, physical or mental ability, or any other aspect integral to one's personhood and identity. We therefore recognize our responsibility, both individual and collective, to strive to establish and maintain an environment wherein all interactions are based on empathy and mutual respect for the person, acknowledging differences of perspectives, free from judgment, censure, and/or stigma.
• If you, for whatever reason, feel unwelcome, unsafe, or discriminated against during a student teaching placement, please contact your Placement Coordinator or any other member of the ISA team. If you believe a peer or friend is facing any of these challenges, please encourage them to contact us.
• We are here to help!

• Quebec’s Education Act, Section 261.0.2, grants public school boards and private schools the right to verify the judicial record of any person in regular contact with minor students, including Student Teachers. Each board or private school may have its own administrative procedures for judicial record verification and Student Teachers are responsible for informing themselves of and complying with these procedures.
• Student teachers should ensure they inquire about and, if requested, submit a Declaration Concerning a Judicial Record ahead of EACH placement they do.
• Any McGill Student Teacher who fails to obtain the necessary security clearance will not be permitted to undertake their Field Experiences/Internships and, consequently, will be withdrawn from the program as these are a mandatory requirement.
• Links to school board's declaration forms:
  • English Montreal School Board 
  • Lester B. Pearson 
  • Sir Wilfrid Laurier 
  • Riverside (FR Version)
  • New Frontiers
  • La Seigneurie des Milles-iles
  • Other school boards/schools: Please contact the school or your Supervisor to inquire about how to get and submit the Declaration Concerning a Judicial Record

• In addition to holding a valid study permit issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), international students require a Co-op/Internship Work Permit.
• Students should apply for this permit well in advance of their Field Experience/Internship as processing times may vary.
• This permit application carries no cost; however, applicants require a medical exam completed by a CIC-certified physician. Failure to do the medical exam will result in a remark that prohibits students from working in primary or secondary schools on their work permit.
• Please visit the International Student Services website for further details and assistance with the application. 
• IMPORTANT: Applicants will require a letter from their Faculty certifying that a co-op/internship is a mandatory part of their program. Please write to the following email to request a letter and include your name, student ID number and program:
  • B.Ed. or B.A. (Education) students: isa.education [at] mcgill.ca
  • MATL students: matl.education [at] mcgill.ca

• The Internships & Student Affairs Office (ISA) operates in accordance with McGill's Guidelines for the Academic Accommodation of Pregnant Students.
• Student Teachers who, because of pregnancy, may not be able to meet the obligations of the Field Experience/Internship are responsible for informing the ISA prior to its start, as well as providing documentation from their medical professional attesting to their scheduled due date and their fitness for the field.
• Student Teachers should contact their Placement Coordinator for further information or to provide supporting documentation. 
• In cases where a Student Teacher is unable to complete their Field Experience/Internship, due to pregnancy or pregnancy-related concerns, a meeting will be arranged with the ISA Director and an outcome for the Field Experience/Internship will be determined. 

• Please consult our Guidelines for student teachers in the Faculty of Education requiring accommodations from the Student Accessibility and Achievement Office (SAA) for student teaching placements