Intern Information

Interns will work in one of the following capacities:

• a full-time classroom assistant,
• an assistant to the special education teacher, or
• as an assistant to the environmental education teacher.

Interns who are placed as full-time classroom assistants will work closely with a teacher, their mentor, to assist in all aspects of the classroom: reading and math groups, homework and class work preparation, classroom management, etc. Interns will also have the opportunity to work with the mentor teacher to plan and teach lessons.

Those interns working with the environmental education coordinator will help with the environmental education program, develop curriculum, and work on specific environmental projects.

Interns assigned to the special education cluster will work under the guidance of the special education teacher to provide one-on-one and small group assistance to students needing extra support in the areas of reading, math and English as a Second Language.

An Intern’s needs and interests will always be taken into consideration when deciding on placements. We do our best to match you with your position of choice, depending upon our primary needs. Interns work with a lead teacher to help plan and teach classes. This program is also set-up to satisfy various types of teacher practicum requirements if there is interest for students studying for their teaching certificates. However, while we can help you receive credit, we are unable to offer it through the school. While it is helpful, we do not require any teaching or classroom experience. In addition to the lead teacher, the interns also work with the Volunteer Coordinator who handles all intern inquiries, program placements and fees, and will serve as your supervisor while here at the Cloud Forest School.

In addition to their full-time placements, Interns (under their own initiative) have taken responsibility for assemblies, after-school programming (environmental club, art club, a school newspaper, yearbook, etc.), and in-school non-academic programming (music, soccer league, etc.). Interns frequently teach high school mini-courses as well. Mini-courses are electives that all high school students participate in once a week. In general, we have about twelve interns per semester.

Intern Fees
Intern Application fee: $75.00 (download application)
Intern Program fees including homestay: $670 per month (includes three meals a day and laundry)
Intern Program fees without homestay: $280 per month
The Program fee includes:

Professional mentor, supervision, Spanish classes, professional development through seminars and meetings, free pass to Parks and Reserves of the region, email access, local phone calls, and bus transportation to and from school.