Overview
There are 6 levels of early education and care positions:
- Infant-toddler Teacher
- Infant-toddler Lead Teacher
- Preschool Teacher
- Preschool Lead Teacher
- Director I
- Director II
Each level has educational degree(s), coursework and work experience requirements.
When calculating work experience:
- 50 hours of consistent work at one program is equivalent to one month of work experience. For example, 450 hours equal 9 months.
- A “permanent” substitute position at a child care center counts as work experience (occasional substitute teaching doesn’t count).
- Work experience must be in a licensed group child care center, family child care home, or equivalent program accepted by EEC.
The eligibility for each position builds off the previous level. For example, to meet the Director I level, you need to meet the Lead Teacher level eligibility plus additional requirements.
Infant-toddler or preschool teacher
Education requirement:
- Have a high school diploma if you are under 21 years old.
Coursework requirement:
- You must have completed a 3-credit college course (from an accredited college) in Child Growth and Development or Human Growth and Development.
- Other courses may substitute for Child Growth and Development. Please send your course description and transcript to us if you think the course fulfills the requirement.
If you do not meet the course requirement, you can substitute it with:
- A valid Child Development Associate Credential (CDA) from the Council for Professional Recognition
- A Chapter 74 and EEC Approved High School child care program in Massachusetts (must have graduated after 1989).
- A recommendation letter from the high school program director (the recommendation letter, on the school's letterhead, must include total hours of class room experience and age group).
- A copy of your high school diploma and official transcript.
Work experience requirements:
- You must have 9 months of supervised work experience, where at least 3 months are with either age group or a supervised practicum (where college credit was earned) with the appropriate age group.
- You must have an official transcript from the practicum and a practicum verification form signed by your college supervisor.
- Work experience in a mixed toddler/preschool group counts towards both infant-toddler and preschool certification.
Work experience requirements can be reduced if you meet the following substitutes:
- An associate’s or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field (counts as 6 months of work experience).
- A bachelor’s degree in an unrelated field (counts as 3 months of work experience).
- 1 CEU (10 hours of instruction) from Child Care Education Institute in Infant and Toddler Development or Care and/or Program Planning (counts as 3 months of work experience; available for infant-toddler teacher only)
Infant-toddler or preschool lead teacher
Education requirements for individuals with a Related degree:
- 12 total Early Childhood Education ECE Credits; 4 courses total in 4 different categories of study (except Child Care Administration)
Education requirements for individuals without a degree or an unrelated degree:
- 12 total Early Childhood Education (ECE) Credits; 4 courses total
- One of the courses can be a training CEU. EEC accepts training CEUs from NAEYC and ChildCare Education Institute for the infant toddler certificate 4.5 CEU and the Director certificate 6.0 CEU
- Child development is a required credit course for all applicants
- 3 college credits in Child Growth and Development
- 3 college credits in infant-toddler care and education (for infant-toddler), or 3 college credits in early childhood curriculum, program planning, or behavior management (for preschool)
- 6 other college credits in early childhood education except Child Care Administration (see EEC's Categories of Study: Category #13)
If you do not meet the course requirement, you can substitute with:
- A CDA Credential is a substitute for the education requirements for infant-toddler or preschool Lead Teacher.
- A copy of your Montessori Certificate. You must also show an official transcript for completion of Child Growth and Development and letter from the program detailing your certificate completion date.
- The Montessori certificate must be from a recognized program affiliated with the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Evaluation (MACTE).
- A Montessori Early Childhood credential requires a total of 1,250 hours (33 credit hours) with a nine months supervised internship/student teaching experience in a Montessori early childhood classroom.
- A Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Educator Licensure in Early Childhood (PreK- 2 or PreK-3) (can substitute for preschool lead teacher only)
- A Department of Public Health (DPH) Early Intervention Certification (for Infant-toddler lead teacher only)
Work Experience Requirements:
The number of months of experience is determined by the degree that you hold.
- 36 months of experience if you have a high school diploma or G.E.D.
- 27 months of experience if you have a Certificate such as a CDA Credential, community college, or Montessori credential; or associate's degree in an unrelated field
- 18 months of experience if you have an associate's degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field; or bachelor's or advanced degree in an unrelated field
- 9 months of experience if you have a bachelor's or advanced degree in Early Childhood Education or a related field
- Completion of 150 Practicum hours, also called student teaching, through a Chapter 74, EEC Approved High School, or College/University will equate to 9 months or work experience.
- A pre-practicum, also called "field work", is not considered a full student teaching experience and does not count towards work experience.
Director I
Education requirements for individuals with an ECE degree or related degree:
- Meets the requirement for Lead Teacher plus an additional 3 college credits or 4 CEUs in Child Care Administration (see EEC's Categories of Study: Category #13)
Education requirements for individuals without a degree or an unrelated degree:
Meets all the education requirements for a Lead Teacher plus:
- 18 Total Early Childhood Education (ECE) Credits; 6 courses total
- An additional 3 college credits or 4 CEUs in Child Care Administration (see EEC's Categories of Study: Category #13)
- An additional 3 college credits or 3 CEUs in Early Childhood Education in a category of study other than Child Care Administration
Work Experience Requirements
- Meets work experience requirements of a Lead Teacher plus 6 additional months.
Director II
Education Requirements for all educators:
- Meets Director I education requirements plus an additional 2 college credits or 3 CEU’s in other administration topics (EEC category 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12)
Work Experience Requirements
- No additional work experience requirements for Director II
| Last updated: | December 5, 2023 |
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