CREATING POSITIVE
INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES
A Collaborative Approach
Presenters
Lisa Cleveland
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Middle School
Counselor, North Pines
Middle School
Eleven years of
experience as a middle
school counselor
Supervised six interns,
working with two
different university
programs
Mona Griffin
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Lecturer, Gonzaga
University, School
Counseling Program
23 years as a high
school counselor
Supervised sixteen
interns during that time
from three different
universities
Audience Questions
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How many of you have had an intern?
How many of you feel that you are veterans as
supervisors of interns?
Were your experiences as a supervisor positive . . .?
Negative . . .?
Neutral . . .?
What do you hope to gain from your time with us?
Why have an intern?
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Pay it forward concept
Requires the supervisor to be more reflective
Benefits to the school
 Can
accomplish more
 Interns can help with data
 Collaboration opportunities if the counselor works in
isolation
 Making connections with university personnel and
programs
Why have an intern?
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High quality placement experiences are scarce
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Benefits to the university
 Making
connections with schools and school districts
 Collaboration with school personnel in the field, doing
the work
Key Players
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University supervisor
Building supervisor
Intern
Building principal
In some cases, central office personnel
In some cases, counselor colleagues
Certification requirements
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State (WAC 181-78A-315)
 Practicum—no
specific time stated (Gonzaga—100
hours)
 Internship—400 hours (Gonzaga—600 hours)
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CACREP
Process
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The university typically has some type of memorandum
of understanding about their relationship with the
district allowing interns to be placed
Some districts require central office approval and some
allow university personnel to go directly to school
counselor supervisors
Document that reflects a formal agreement should exist
somewhere
Supervisor can create an interview process for the
prospective intern; this is essential when multiple
institutions are vying for placement options
Supervisor Training
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University personnel can partner with
veteran/experienced school supervisors to provide
a workshop for potential new supervisors and those
who want to be better supervisors—offer clock
hours!
Increase the number and quality of supervisors that
interns have access to!
Realities of School Culture
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Examples
 Group
work
 Classroom management issues
 Relationships with other educational professionals
Potential Issues/Barriers
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Competing interests—how many university
programs in the geographical area are placing
students in school setting?
Highly qualified supervisors
Current economic climate—who is hiring?
Potential Issues/Barriers
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Work space
Lack of understanding on the student’s part of
school culture
Supervisor feeling intimidated by university
expectations and state requirements
Technology
 Hardware
 Access
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“Letting go . . .”
Bumps in the Road
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What happens if it isn’t working?
 Examples
 Lisa
 Mona
 Intern
should be the FIRST to know—then communication
must occur between the university supervisor and the
school supervisor
 Plan of improvement can be developed, if necessary
 Final consideration should be given to removal of the
student from the school placement
Activity
Summary
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Are there any questions/concerns that we didn’t
address?
Thinking back to the beginning of the session, did
we meet your expectations of this presentation?
Contact information:
Mona Griffin
Lisa Cleveland
 [email protected]
[email protected]
Closing
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Thanks to all of you today who came to this
session—we encourage you to “pay it forward” so
that others can join this exciting and rewarding
profession!