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 will hold our annual Back to School Welcome Meeting in August 2026 to (re)introduce our team, reconnect, share what we've worked on this summer, and preview the resources and opportunities to come in the year ahead.

August 18, 2026 at 2pm

Please register through Zoom.
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.		 FY2027 information coming soon!

Updates to Guidelines or Foundational Resources

The Guidelines and resources below have recently been updated or will be updated in the near future. 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 have been updated to align with the 2023 Guidelines for Educator Preparation Program Approval and 2024 Guidelines for the Professional Standards for Teachers.

The updated Guidelines were released in December 2025.

Organizations should fully implement the updated Guidelines by September 2027.

Revised Guidelines for Educator Preparation Program Approval

Including Two New Addenda:

  • Approved Professional Teacher Program Criteria
  • Approved Endorsement Area Criteria

We are updating our Guidelines for Educator Preparation Program Approval to include:

  • An updated formal review calendar with timelines differentiated based on organization size
  • Clarification regarding the relationship between program-level and organization-level approval designations
  • An updated policy related to virtual course delivery setting limits on the proportion of asynchronous course delivery across a program
  • Updated expectations for approved Professional Teacher programs and approved Endorsement programs.

**New Professional Teacher programs will not be accepted for review in the current Informal Review window. We anticipate beginning to accept Professional Teacher programs for approval in early 2027.**

Spring-Summer 2026: We are reviewing the public comment we received earlier in the Spring and working to finalize the updates to the Guidelines. We anticipate final Guidelines being released by the end of the summer.

Additional Opportunities to Engage

These are ways 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

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.

Applications have closed for the 2026 reviewer cohort! We anticipate beginning recruitment for the next cohort in late 2026.

Last Updated: June 15, 2026

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