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MATL Contract Requirements

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📝❓ For all questions about MATL contract requirements, and to submit a contract for consideration for Internship credit, please contact your Placement Coordinator.

 

Fall Internship Deadlines

  • Deadline to notify Placement Coordinator of intent to obtain contract for Internship: Last Friday of May
    • Note that you may be asked to meet with the ISA Director for approval of your eligibility to seek a contract
  • Deadline to submit contract to Placement Coordinator for validation: Last Friday of August

 

Winter Internship Deadlines

  • Deadline to notify Placement Coordinator of intent to obtain contract for Internship: Last Friday in October
    • Note that you may be asked to meet with the ISA Director for approval of your eligibility to seek a contract
  • Deadline to submit contract to Placement Coordinator for validation: Last Friday of November

Intent to Obtain Contract Deadline

While we appreciate that some contracts may only be available in the late summer or early Fall, we require your notice of intent by the stated deadline above to provide our Placement Coordinators with adequate time to find and confirm placements for those not seeking a contract. We also are not able to find and “hold” a placement for you while you look to obtain a contract, because of agreements with our partner schools. For these reasons, contract requests after the deadline cannot be considered. We suggest you notify us of your intent to obtain a contract only if you are certain you will be able to obtain a contract that meets the Ministry requirements (see below).

 

Employers

Contracts can be with English school boards (excl. TESL), French school boards (excl. Secondary ELA), or private schools – but must be in the Greater Montreal Area (since you are required to come to campus during the term) and must meet the Ministry requirements (see below).

 

Change of Plans

If you notify your Placement Coordinator that you are seeking a contract, ISA will not search for and secure a placement with a Co-operating Teacher (CT) for you. If at any time between notifying your Placement Coordinator that you are searching for a contract and the contract validation deadline (see above), you decide that you no longer wish to seek a contract or are unable to obtain a contract, it is your responsibility to notify your Placement Coordinator of this change of plans, so that a placement may be sought for you. Please note, depending on when you notify your Placement Coordinator, you may have a delayed start to your Internship.

 

Contract Validation Deadline & Requirements

Failure to submit your contract for validation by the deadline stated above may result in a delay to your start date and a subsequent extension of your end date. Please remember that all contracts must specify your teaching schedule and must contain enough subject area teaching hours to satisfy the Ministry requirements within the appointed term. For detailed Ministry requirements for contract validation, please see below.

If you elect to submit your contract past this deadline, you agree that the ISA will not look for a placement for you for the term in which you are registered to complete an Internship, and you will then only be able to do your Internship if you have a suitable contract by the start of the Internship. Take note that if after the deadline, you elect to continue finding a contract, you risk the chance that you will not be able to do your Internship (and graduate, if this is your last term) if:

  • you do not secure a contract in time for the start of the Internship OR
  • the contract will not meet Ministry requirements OR
  • the school does not agree to the terms in the Letter of Agreement (see below)

 

Career Services in the Faculty of Education

The ISA Office's student teaching team will not facilitate your search for paid teaching contracts (e.g. make inquiries on your behalf to schools about possible paid contracts), and will only validate that a contract meets the course, program, and Ministry requirements for the internship. You are invited to contact the career.education [at] mcgill.ca (Education Career Advisor) for any questions regarding job search, CV/cover letter preparation, job opportunities in Montreal, substitute teaching application procedures, etc. You can also visit the Career Services section on the ISA website to get more information on topics such as volunteering opportunities, professional development and French proficiency requirements.

 

Information and Documentation Required from Student Teachers on Contract

In order to validate that your contract meets the Ministry Requirements, please send us the following information and documentation by the ISA Office's noted deadline:

  • Name of the school
  • A copy of your teaching schedule
  • A copy of your contract
  • The name and e-mail address of the individual with whom I can verify that the information provided is accurate
  • Letter of Agreement signed by both you and the school administrator
  • The name and position of the person who will be evaluating you throughout your Internship

 

Letter of Agreement

Student Teachers who pursue a paid contract for their Internship must sign and have the Administrator of their school sign ISA's "Letter of Agreement Pertaining to Paid Contracts for Internships Taken as Part of McGill University’s Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning (MATL)" prior to the start of their contract/Internship. A Student Teacher's ability to use a paid contract for their Internship may not be approved without this signed Letter of Agreement. Links to download a blank PDF of the Letter of Agreement are provided below.

 

 

Ministry Requirements

Hours: The ISA Office values equity and flexibility, and tries its absolute best to make a reasonable contract opportunity meet our requirements as we understand the importance and value that a paid internship offers MATL students. As such, if you receive an offer that does not exactly meet the weekly hours of teaching in your subject area (see below), your Placement Coordinator can look to extend your internship dates to make up some hours or potentially have you paired with another teacher at the school so that you have a hybrid placement that consists of some teaching hours on contract and some teaching hours with a Co-operating Teacher. Your Placement Coordinator will be able to discuss various options once you have found or been offered a contract opportunity.

Subject: A valid teaching contract must have a significant majority of the workload in the student's specific program subject area (i.e. Secondary (ELA, Social Sciences, Math, or Science) or TESL).

 

Internship 1

In order for a paid contract to be eligible for recognition as MATL Internship 1, the contract must meet the following requirements:

  • Must be in the secondary school sector (or elementary school sector, if TESL)

  • Minimum of 350 Internship hours, all of which must be completed in the appointed semester (i.e. Fall, Winter) and distributed based on the table below
  • A certain number of hours must be completed in the MATL student's assigned subject area (e.g. Social Sciences, TESL, etc.) and other task areas in order to comply with QC Ministry of Education requirements for teacher certification:

Minimum

Area

120 hours (appox. 10 hours/week)

MATL subject area workload (i.e. teaching)

90 hours (appox. 7.5 hours/week)

Unassigned tasks in subject area (Prep/correction)

140 hours (appox. 11.5 hours/week)

Presence and/or other in-school duties

 

Internship 2

In order for a paid contract to be eligible for recognition as MATL Internship 2, the contract must meet the following requirements:

  • Secondary (ELA, Social Sciences, Math, Science) Students: Must be in the secondary school sector*
  • TESL Students: Ideally is in the sector (elementary or secondary) not done in IN1
  • Minimum of 385 Internship hours, all of which must be completed in the appointed semester (i.e. Fall, Winter) and distributed based on the table below
  • A certain number of hours must be completed in the MATL student's assigned subject area (e.g. Social Sciences, TESL, etc.) and other task areas in order to comply with QC Ministry of Education requirements for teacher certification:

Minimum

Area

176 hours (appox. 16 hours/week)

MATL subject area workload (i.e. teaching)

132 hours (appox. 12 hours/week)

Unassigned tasks in subject area (Prep/correction)

77 hours (appox. 7 hours/week)

Presence and/or other in-school duties

 

*Exceptionally, Internship 2 may be completed in an "alternative" school (e.g. adult education centre, special needs, outreach).

 

 

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