Department: Elementary and Early Childhood Education
Students who select the Elementary Education, BSE, wish to be elementary teachers and are pursuing a public school teaching license for grades 1-6. Students are also required to select a second major outside of the Elementary and Early Childhood Education Department. A second major is a requirement of Bridgewater State University. Students who successfully complete their Elementary Education major and a second major are then eligible to apply for an Initial License with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for Elementary Education (Grades 1-6).
Students must apply for admission and be accepted into Professional Education after completion of ELED 220 - Introduction to Elementary Education and in order to take ELED 480 - SEI Endorsement for Teachers . This requires a formal application to the College of Education and Health Sciences, a cumulative 2.8 GPA and successfully passing the Communication and Literacy Skills Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL).
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires three Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure® (MTEL) for Elementary licensure: Communication and Literacy Skills, General Curriculum (made of two subtests: Multi-Subject and Mathematics), and Foundations of Reading. All three of these exams must be passed as a prerequisite to the “block” of Professional courses.
Students must complete a series of field experiences (prepractica) throughout the Foundation courses and Professional courses. This equals over 100 hours in educational settings. After completing all Foundation courses, Cognate courses, ELED 480 and their second major, students take the remaining Professional courses as a “block” of courses and must register with the department. Following the Professional “block” of courses, students must complete a full-time, semester-long student teaching experience in a local school under the joint supervision of a university supervisor and a supervising practitioner.
All undergraduate students seeking licensure must consult the Educator Preparation and Licensure Policies and Procedures section of this catalog for information pertaining to admission to Professional Education and the state regulations for the Licensure of Educational Personnel and important institutional deadlines.
Students will be asked to authorize a Criminal Offender Record Inquiry (CORI) as a requirement for access to public and private schools and agencies during their prepractica and student teaching field experiences. Additional criminal background checks, including Statewide Applicant Fingerprint Identification Services (SAFIS), are required for field placement in schools and agencies according to Massachusetts laws and regulations. Students who are rejected for field placement by public school districts or other educational institutions due to CORI or SAFIS results or professional dispositional concerns may be unable to successfully complete the teacher preparation curriculum at BSU.
This program has been approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and includes licensure reciprocity with signatory states under the Interstate Certification Compact.
Learning Outcomes: CAEP Standards, Massachusetts Professional Standards for Teachers, Massachusetts Subject Matter Knowledge Requirements and Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.