A partner school and a provider shall establish a teacher training practicum through a written partnership agreement, as follows: The provider of a program shall prioritize selecting partner schools within its same community; The provider of a program and a partner school shall seek to provide teacher training placements in a variety of school environments with diverse student populations that provide participants with the same kind of experiences as teachers employed in the State; and The instructional program and work organization of a partner school located in a local school system shall reflect the career ladder once the Accountability and Implementation Board determines that the career ladder system is well established throughout the State. A clinical mentor teacher shall: Be a highly competent teacher demonstrated by evidence of impacting student achievement; Be trained and selected by the partner school; Hold a professional Maryland educator license; Have the skills and knowledge needed to mentor teacher training practicum participants and to instill the skills, attitudes, values, and knowledge necessary for the next generation of teachers; Provide opportunities for teacher training practicum participants in guided, hands-on, practical applications and demonstrations of a candidate’s professional knowledge while applying educational theory through collaborative and facilitated learning tasks, activities, and assessments; Have teaching and release time per the implementation of the county board approved career ladder to mentor candidates and lead workshops and demonstrations at the school level; Collaborate with the educator preparation program to evaluate participants in a teacher training practicum to ensure each participant demonstrates the competencies required of certified teachers; and Be selected using the following criteria: From the career ladder system, as applicable, when the Accountability and Implementation Board determines that the career ladder system is well established throughout the State; Until the Accountability and Implementation Board makes a determination that the career ladder is well established, meet the requirements of §B(1)—(7) of this regulation; and A partner school may select a clinical mentor who is not on the career ladder if the partner school can demonstrate the need to justify the selection. Program Collaboration with Clinical Experience Placements. The provider of the program shall collaborate with the partner school to provide the mentor teacher: Initial training on best practices in coaching, mentoring, and reflective strategies; and Additional professional development to support mentor teachers. The provider of the program shall collaborate with mentor teachers to ensure teacher candidates demonstrate the teacher competencies established in Regulations .12—.15 of this chapter. Partner School Requirements. A partner school shall: Assist in finding teaching training practicum placements, to ensure: A well-rounded clinical experience based on student population and geographic location; Exposure to distinguished instructional practices; and Placement with a mentor teacher who meets the requirements outlined in §B of this regulation, and is professionally licensed in the area in which the candidate is placed; and Actively collaborate with programs to ensure mentoring and growth of teacher candidates. Compensation of Mentor Teachers. Partner schools shall compensate mentor teachers who supervise participants in a teacher training practicum. When the career ladder system is well established throughout the State, as determined by the Accountability and Implementation Board, the compensation of mentor teachers will be according to the career ladder system. Action Research. A provider shall ensure that all programs require teacher candidates to conduct action research during the practicum. Candidates shall present findings to the partner school and program. Candidates shall ensure these findings include the ongoing cycle of problem identification, data collection, reflection, analysis, and lessons learned for the next cycle.