About EEC professional certifications
EEC professional certifications show your skills, knowledge, and experience in early childhood education and care. They also qualify you to handle specific responsibilities.
Our professional certifications may also help you advance in your current role or strengthen your application for future job opportunities.
These are the position levels and the certifications:
Teacher level. This includes an infant-toddler certification and preschool certification.
Lead teacher level. This includes an infant-toddler certification and preschool certification.
Director I level. This includes a director I certification.
Director II level. This includes a director II certification.
Learn more about how to apply for an EEC certification
Lead teacher and director certifications have more requirements than the previous one. This allows you to handle more responsibilities.
You don’t need a certification from the previous level to apply for the next level, but you must meet the eligibility requirements for the level you’re applying for.
For example: To meet the certification eligibility requirements for the director I position, you must meet the lead teacher eligibility plus any additional requirements for director I. But you don't need a lead teacher certification to apply for a director certification.
Learn more about the lead teacher level positions and certifications
Age requirements
You must be at least 21 years old to apply for a director I or II certification.
Education requirements
First, you need to meet the education requirements for a lead teacher certification.
Learn more about education requirements for lead teacher certifications
You also need 2 college-level credits or 3 continuing education units (CEUs) in Category of Study 13: Child Care Administration.
Learn more about the types of information courses are required to teach you (categories of study)
And then you must have these additional credits for director I or II:
- If you’re applying for a direction I certification, you must have 2 college-level credits or 3 CEUs in any Category of Study numbered 1 to 12.
- If you’re applying for a director II certification, you must have 2 college-level credits or 3 CEUs in our Children with Special Needs Category of Study or any Category of Study numbered 8 to 13.
Note: We accept training CEUs from CCEI, MAEYC, or NAEYC only. If your training is from CCEI, we only accept the infant-toddler (4.5 CEUs) and childcare administration trainings (6 CEUs). Professional Development Points or workshop attendance verification are not substitutes for CEUs and we don’t accept them.
Documents you’ll need
You’ll need to submit a copy of the front and back of an official transcript with all of this information:
- The college or university name and logo, and
- The registrar’s signature, and
- The course names and credits received, and
- Degree earned (if you have a degree)
If you have CEUs, you must submit a copy of your course or training certificate with these details:
- Your name and date, and
- The number of units, and
A signature from the Chief Executive Officer
Work or volunteer experience requirements
First, you’ll need to meet the work experience requirements for a lead teacher certification.
Learn more about work requirements for a lead teacher certifications
If you’re applying for a director I certification, you’ll need an additional 6 months of work experience as an early childhood educator.
If you’re applying for a director II certification, you don’t need any additional work experience.
Note: This includes substitute teaching that’s 50 hours or more within a 4-week time period (also called permanent substitute teaching).
Your work experience must also meet certain program and supervisor requirements to count toward your certification.
Keep reading to learn more.
How we count hours
- If you work 12 hours or more each week, 4 weeks of consistent work at one program equals 1 month of work
- If you work less than 12 hours each week, 50 hours of consistent work at one program equals 1 month of work
- If you work less than 50 hours in 4 weeks as a substitute teacher, you’ll need to work more hours to meet the work experience requirements
Requirements for your supervisor and program
Your work program and supervisor need to meet certain requirements.
Program requirements
These are the eligible types of child care programs:
- A group child care center
- A family child care home
- An equivalent state-licensed program accepted by EEC
Note: If your work experience is outside of Massachusetts, it must be a program that’s certified by that state’s Early Education and Care department or an equivalent department.
We also count experience with children with disabilities from birth to 16 years old.
These experiences don’t count for our certifications:
- Work experience outside of the U.S.
- StrongStart classes
Supervisor requirements
Your supervisor needs to meet certain requirements in order to verify your work experience.
Be sure your supervisor must meet one of these requirements:
- They must be EEC-certified Teacher, Lead Teacher, Director 1, or Director 2, or
- They must be Licensed by the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for a Pre-Kindergarten grade level, or
- They must be qualified from another state in the U.S. that meets EEC-standards
Information and documents you’ll need
You’ll need to complete a Verification of Work Experience or Practicum form and have your supervisor provide some details.
Download Verification of Work Experience or Practicum form (PDF)
Then you need to upload and submit the form with your application.
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| Last updated: | December 5, 2023 |
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