A Gold-Star Partnership: Cooperating Teachers and TEP Candidates
Local teachers across southern Santa Barbara County give the symbiotic relationship high marks.
Anticipation fills the air on the first day of school, with nervous energy and new outfits on full display among thousands of K-12 students. Another group of older students also feeling nervous and excited are candidates in the Gevirtz School Teacher Education Program (TEP), who will begin their journey as student teachers, working in local classrooms, side-by-side with professional teachers who have agreed to serve as mentors, called “cooperating teachers.” Together they will build the classroom communities that will foster learning for the subsequent 180 days.
Gevirtz School TEP candidates provide invaluable assistance to cooperating teachers in many ways - before, during and after classes. And it’s not just the TEP candidates who are learning from their cooperating teachers.
“It’s a symbiotic relationship,” said Victoria “Tory” Harvey, director of the Gevirtz School Teacher Education Program. “The mentor teacher and teacher candidate learn from one another as the mentor shares strong, well-developed practices, while the candidate brings new ideas and pedagogies”
The benefits of gaining knowledge in the newest pedagogy and research the TEP candidates bring is cited as a primary reason for teachers to participate in the mentorship agreement. Cooperating teachers from K-12 schools across multiple school districts in southern Santa Barbara County mentor approximately 80 TEP candidates every year. Each TEP candidate spends time with at least one cooperating teacher, and some work with up to three different mentors. Collectively, TEP candidates assist in shaping the learning experiences of more than 2,000 students during the school year.
Read this article and others in Launch 2025-2026
“Being a cooperating teacher is an incredible opportunity because both the cooperating teacher and the teacher candidate learn so much from one another, as I have personally experienced,” said Leticia Lemus, a bilingual education specialist at Adelante Charter School in Santa Barbara, who has been a cooperating teacher for three years. “The TEP teacher candidates contribute fresh ideas and research-based strategies. UCSB’s robust program prepares them well and equips them with resources that they, in turn, share with me, my colleagues, and our students,” Lemus added.
Cooperating teachers often relate that the TEP candidates broaden their view of their own teaching practices and prompt them to reflect on their methods.
“Having the (TEP) student teacher available to lead class instruction allows me to step back and observe my class from a different perspective than when I’m in front of the classroom,” said Cameron Hatcher-Day, an English teacher at La Colina Junior High in Santa Barbara.
At the beginning of the 2025 academic year, he mentored TEP candidate Isabella Garcia-Bernasconi, who is pursuing a teaching credential in English and a bilingual authorization.
“Isabella was wonderful in the classroom. She worked with students one-on-one, looked at their writing and gave suggestions when they were struggling with ideas,” Hatcher-Day said. “And she helped me to reflect on what we were teaching, by giving feedback and offering her own suggestions. It encouraged me to always continue to improve my practice.”
Even teachers who have been in classrooms for decades benefit from the fresh ideas and approaches that TEP students bring to them. Socorro Chavez, who has been teaching kindergarten classes at Isla Vista Elementary in the Goleta Valley Unified School District for 35 years, describes her teaching practice as “always evolving,” thanks to the influence of TEP candidates.
“A big part of taking on a student teacher is because they have the latest new knowledge about things that are going on in classrooms,” Chavez said. “They come in and tell me ‘oh we were reading about this,’ and then I start reading up on it after they’ve introduced it. So they’re teaching me, even though officially, on paper, I’m their mentor.”
During each day of fieldwork, TEP students spend from four to eight hours at their assigned schools. By the spring, they are student teaching full time, arriving before students in the morning for preparations and staying until the final bell rings in the afternoon. The long days spent with dozens of students result in gaining the deep, rich experience that will shape the future educators.
“Overall I learned so much from Cameron and La Colina that has been truly invaluable!” said TEP candidate Garcia-Bernasconi, who was the teacher candidate for mentor teacher Hatcher-Day. “I think the most valuable lesson I learned was the importance of routine. Kids thrive when they have clear expectations and practice those expectations every day.”
Fellow TEP candidate, Anthony Galvan, who is pursuing a teaching credential in social science, was a teacher candidate for cooperating teacher Charles Clow in AP Government at San Marcos High in Santa Barbara.
“The most valuable lesson I learned from my time in Mr. Clow’s classroom was understanding what an engaging and student-centered social science class should look like. His teaching philosophy revolves around discussion and active participation,” Galvan said.
“I never saw him operate from a place of authority over students. Instead, he served as a facilitator of conversation. He encouraged students to be explorers in their own education, where they navigate with high engagement and high agency in their learning,” he added.
An alumnus of TEP, Clow shared how his cooperating teachers influenced him during his early training and later in his decision to also participate in the Gevirtz School program.
“I remember the significant positive impacts my cooperating teachers made on me. I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for (those teachers). The chance to be the type of mentor that I had was too good to pass up,” Clow said.
Some cooperating teachers hesitated when first approached to participate in the program, as was the case for Henly Ngai, ESN Special Education Teacher at Mountain View Elementary School, in the Goleta Union School District.
“Initially, I declined the opportunity to be a cooperating teacher because I thought it would add more work to my plate,” Ngai explained. “However, after my first experience mentoring a TEP student, my perspective completely changed. Now, entering my 17th year of teaching, I truly believe that real classroom experience is just as important as coursework and theory. I’ve had the privilege of mentoring eight TEP student teachers over five years, and I can still remember each one of them and their qualities,” Ngai added.
TEP candidates often leave long lasting and positive impressions on their cooperating teachers as well as the students.
“My students love the (TEP) student teachers, and it’s been that way every year,” said Hatcher-Day at La Colina Junior High. He recalled that his students were filled with emotion when they learned that Garcia-Bernasconi would be leaving to start a new assignment. When Isabella told our first period class that it would be her last week, they all audibly gasped,” he said. “They were so sad because she had built such a connection with them.”
Clow at San Marcos High echoes the belief that TEP candidates excel at creating strong bonds during their preparation.
“They do an excellent job relating to students and developing relationships with them. They have made a positive impact on me,” Clow said. “Just as teaching is a privilege, so too is mentoring. My teacher candidates make me better, and I'm so grateful to get to play a role in their development.”