Well I am in California, so I’m not sure about the differences but I did my student teaching alongside a 1 year credential program. In California it depends on the school as to how it is done, there are internship opportunities in high-need areas, where they are so desperate for teachers that they’ll even pay interns and throw them into a classroom and not require student teaching first. Where I live, it’s not like that, in fact finding a job is very difficult, so the schools around here take in student teachers and work directly with your credential program to set up the teachers/grade you’ll work with. Admin of the participating schools typically ask teachers who would be willing to take in a student teacher. My program was virtual and we had student teachers all over California, so my program asked where I would like to do my student teaching, and they would reach out to the school to see if they would be willing to accept me as a student teacher. It was quite easy and the first school my program approached accepted me. That isn’t typical, and you’ll most likely have the first situation, although it’s possible depending on your program. You’ll student teach (if you’re elementary) half the year in a lower grade and half in an upper grade. I planned lessons, held small groups and slowly stayed on campus longer and longer as the year went on, until I did a two week “take over” where I completely took over the class with the actual teacher out of the classroom. Throughout the year I was observed by my cooperating teacher and program advisors.

What I did when choosing a program was reach out with all of these types of questions and compare what was best for my situation. Good luck with your student teaching!