Professional Licensure
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education is responsible for licensing all professional educators including teachers, psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, speech language pathologists and many other professional positions in the Norwell Public Schools. You can apply for your license and maintain your license through your ELAR account.
It is very important for you to be familiar with your ELAR account which houses your demographic data, schools attended, license information and status, as well as other important documents that have been scanned into your file such as correspondence from DESE, MTEL test scores and other important documents.
For complete instructions on how to access and use your ELAR account, please visit https://www.doe.mass.edu/licensure/elar/
Whether you are applying for a new license or renewing an existing license, it may take several months for DESE to process your request. Please plan accordingly.
Your license allows you to teach in Massachusetts, and every public school system is required by law to employ only teachers with an appropriate, valid license. Please be sure your license is always up to date and in good standing. The Executive Director for Instruction or the Data & Compliance Specialist will assist you at any time you need help in understanding the process or to help navigate the DESE.
Your license is one of four types:
Temporary: You are a licensed teacher from another state and have taught under that license for at least three years. This license is good for one year and is not renewable. You must take the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) which consists of the Communication and Literacy and subject matter tests.
Provisional: You have not completed a teacher training program at the undergraduate or graduate level, but passed the MTEL tests. This license is good for five years, and it not renewable. Within the five years, you must complete a teacher prepration program. Some licenses require a competency review such as special education, school guidance counselor, school pyschologist and other specialist licenses.
Initial: You have completed teacher preparation program at the undergraduate or graduate level. This license is good for five years, and can be extended for an additional five years. In order to move to the professional license, you must complete:
- A mentor/induction program
- 50 hours of mentoring beyond the mentor/induction program
- a Master's degree.
If you already hold a Master's degree, you must demonstrate that you have taken 12 graduate credits in your content area (i.e. if you are a math teacher, you must complete 12 graduate credits in mathematics - not pedagogy).
In addition, you are required to submit a letter to the DESE from Norwell Public Schools certifying that you have taught under the license for at least three years, completed the mentor/induction program and 50 hours additional mentoring. The DESE provides more information regarding the requirements to move from the initial to the professional license on their website.
Educators who hold an initial license will notice an asterisk under the expiration column. The asterisk indicates your license is valid for five years of employment. The clock begins when you start working under your license. If you do not teach immediately, or take a leave from your position, you have five full years to work under that license.
Professional: This is the level of licensure that all educators aspire to and are required to reach. The professional license is good for five years. Every five years, you must renew your license and certify that you have completed 150 PDPs, 80% of which must be in your content/content pedagogy. If you stop teaching and do not renew your professional license, the status will shift to inactive after five years. You may teach under an inactive license for two years, at which time you must complete the 150 PDP requirement.
To determine all requirements for any teaching license, visit the DESE Licensure Help Online.