Educator Effectiveness

Educator Preparation in Massachusetts

The resources on this page are primarily for Massachusetts approved educator preparation programs.

  • If you are an individual hoping to become an educator in Massachusetts, visit our Careers in Massachusetts page.
  • If you are from an organization seeking to become an approved educator preparation program, visit our Informal Review toolkit.

Quick Links:

DESE Educator Preparation Resources and Opportunities

We are excited to share upcoming opportunities to learn from and collaborate with the DESE team and your colleagues from other educator preparation programs. We will continue to update this list as opportunities become available. If you have additional questions about any of these opportunities, please contact educatorpreparation@mass.gov .

In addition to the opportunities below, our team will continue to communicate and collect feedback through our Monthly EE Newsletter and regular attendance at SCOPE, MACTE Board, and COMTEC meetings.

General Information and Updates

These are typically higher-level opportunities to learn more about new or planned work that will apply to most educator preparation programs.

Stay Connected! If you would like to update your organization's contact information to ensure the appropriate people receive our communications, please complete the contact info form or email us at educatorpreparation@mass.gov with "Update Contact Information" in the subject line.

Recent Communications from the Ed Prep Inbox:

OpportunityDate(s) & Registration Info
Back to School Welcome Meeting
We kicked off the 2024-2025 academic year by (re)introducing our team, reconnecting, sharing what we've worked on this summer, and previewing the resources and opportunities to come this year.		 September 16, 2024 — Back to School Meeting Slides
EE Newsletters
The Monthly EE Newsletter shares information about what we're working on, what we're learning, and what we have coming up. We regularly feature research, new or highlighted resources, MTEL updates, and licensure updates.

Subscribe to receive monthly newsletters

View newsletter archive for past issues

Early Literacy in Educator Preparation

These opportunities will provide support, collaboration, and learning aligned with Mass Literacy and the Early Literacy Program Approval Criteria and will be designed for those involved in Early Childhood PK–2, Elementary 1–6, and Moderate Disabilities PK–2/PK–8 programs.

Key Resources:

OpportunityDate(s) & Registration Info
Early Literacy Quarterly Updates
Want to stay in the loop about our Early Literacy in Educator Preparation initiative? Every quarter, we share news, upcoming opportunities, and announcements in our Early Literacy in Educator Preparation Quarterly Update. Check out our archive of past updates and sign up to be on our mailing list for future communications.

Subscribe to receive quarterly updates

Archives
Early Literacy Consortium Grant
A grant opportunity to support PK12 educators and sponsoring organizations to share best practices in early literacy instruction and collaborate to design and launch an early literacy initiative that reflects the region's early literacy landscape and needs.

Apply at FY2025 Fund Code 0726: Early Literacy Consortium Grant!
Deadline for applying: October 11, 2024

Information Sessions on this RFP will be held via Zoom:
Early Literacy Professional Learning Community — Cohort 1
In Spring 2024, DESE offered a series of virtual community meetings facilitated by The Reading Circuit designed to support educator preparation faculty in making programmatic shifts to align with the Early Literacy Program Approval Criteria. All participants in this first cohort are invited back for four more sessions in SY24 – 25 to continue their discussions and learning about early literacy practices in educator preparation.

The schedule and overview of upcoming PLC sessions will be updated here:

Cohort 1 Information
Early Literacy Professional Learning Community — Cohort 2
A series of 8 virtual community meetings throughout SY24-25 designed to support a new cohort of educator preparation program faculty and staff in making programmatic shifts to align to the Early Literacy Program Approval Criteria. The scope and sequence of the sessions will be informed by participants and tailored to their needs; to see an example of the topics and discussions that the first cohort explored in Spring 2024, visit The Reading Circuit's Early Literacy PLC site.

The schedule and overview of upcoming PLC sessions will be updated here: Cohort 2 Information

3 Fall Sessions tentatively scheduled for the second Tuesday of the month from 9:30 – 11 AM.

5 Spring Sessions TBD

Anticipated Updates to Guidelines or Foundational Resources

The Guidelines and resources below are anticipated to be updated during 2024-2025. We will update this page regularly regarding the anticipated release of drafts, memos, or requests for feedback on these materials.

Guidelines/ResourcesAnticipated Timeline
Guidelines for Pre-Practicum Experiences for Teacher Candidates
The Pre-Practicum Guidelines will be updated to align with the 2023 Guidelines for Educator Preparation Program Approval and 2024 Guidelines for the Professional Standards for Teachers.		Late Summer/Fall 2024: Seek input and feedback
Winter 2024-2025: Release draft Guidelines for public comment
Spring 2025: Release final Guidelines

Guidelines for Approved Professional Teacher Programs
We will be developing these Guidelines to create clear expectations for approved Professional Teacher programs. In Fall 2024, we will focus on stakeholder engagement and then will build out a timeline for the revisions.

**New Professional Teacher programs will not be accepted for review during this period of development.**

Fall 2024: Input from internal and external stakeholders to inform the updates

Additional information regarding the timeline will be shared based on what we hear and learn through this collaboration.
The Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Communication and Literacy Skills (CLS2) Framework
DESE, in partnership with Throughline Learning, has developed a new Culturally and Linguistically Sustaining Communication and Literacy Skills Framework to guide the redevelopment of the CLST MTEL. We are currently seeking public comment on the draft CLS2 Framework that will eventually guide the redevelopment of the Communication and Literacy Skills MTEL test. Input will directly inform final revisions to the Framework and ultimately impact all new licensed educators in Massachusetts.
  • Draft framework
Subject Matter Knowledge Guidelines: Updates to the Moderate Disabilities 5–12 Expectations
Currently, the SMK Guidelines require Moderate Disabilities 5–12 programs to develop candidates' content fluency in Grades 3–12 of the English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Technology, & Engineering, and History & Social Science Curriculum Frameworks. DESE will be updating the Subject Matter Knowledge Guidelines for Moderate Disabilities 5–12 programs to better align them with content expectations for the role once employed. Our office is collaborating with the Office of Special Education Planning and Policy on these updates and will share additional details for input and feedback this Fall.		 Fall 2024: Seek input
Spring 2025: Release draft SMK Guidelines for public comment
Summer 2025: Final SMK Guidelines released

Additional Opportunities to Engage

The EE Team will be seeking input or feedback on several key policies and initiatives. We hope your voice will be included!

OpportunityDate(s) & Registration Info
2025 Field Feedback SurveyWill be released in late Spring 2025

Apply to Serve as an Ed Prep Reviewer

Ed Prep Reviewers support DESE in making evidence-based, equity-centered judgements about educator preparation program effectiveness.

2026 Ed Prep Reviewer Application

Application open through February 16th, 2026.

Reviewer work weeks in summer and fall 2026.

Last Updated: December 22, 2025

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