Health Teacher Certification in Massachusetts

<table border="1"><tr><td> Education Required </td><td> Bachelor's degree; health education teacher preparation program approved by the state</td></tr> <tr><td> Exams Required </td><td> MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills; MTEL Health/Family and Consumer Sciences</td></tr> <tr><td> License Validity Period </td><td> Initial license valid for five years; can be extended one-time for five years</td></tr> <tr><td> Advancement Requirements</td><td> 50 hours with a mentor, completion of a graduate or other education program to advance to professional license, three years of teaching experience,</td></tr> <tr><td> Mean Salary (2018, Massachusetts) </td><td> $82,600 (all elementary school teachers), $79,030 (all middle school teachers), $80,020 (all high school teachers)*</td></tr> <tr><td> Estimated Job Growth (2016-2026, nationwide) </td><td> 7% (all elementary school teachers), 8% (all middle and high school teachers)*</td></tr> </table><p><i>Source: *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)</i> </p><h3 id="section---FulfillEducationRequirements">Fulfill Education Requirements</h3><p>Massachusetts teachers must possess a minimum of a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or school. Prospective health teachers typically obtain a degree with a health-related major, such as public health, community health, or health science. The major may include courses in subjects such as anatomy and physiology, human disease, and health promotion. </p><h3 id="section---CompleteTeacherPreparationProgram">Complete Teacher Preparation Program</h3><p>Those wishing to teach health must also complete a health education preparation program that has been approved by the state, either as part of the bachelor's degree or as a standalone program. the teacher preparation program generally includes courses in a field such as foundation for health education and curriculum development for health. As part of the program, candidates typically also complete fieldwork in a public-school classroom under the direction of a licensed health educator. </p><h3 id="section---MeetExamRequirements">Meet Exam Requirements</h3><p>Prospective health teachers must pass two required tests before becoming licensed: the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL): Health/Family and Consumer Sciences exam and the MTEL Communication and Literacy Skills exam. The minimum score for each is 240. </p><p>The Health/Family and Consumer Sciences exam includes multiple-choice questions covering four main subareas: a healthy lifestyle, family and emotional health, safety and prevention, and resource management and community health. It also includes two open response questions on the integration of health knowledge and understanding. </p><p>The Communication and Literacy exam contains two subtests (reading and writing), which contain multiple-choice and open-response questions on topics such as relationships among ideas, grammar, critical reasoning, and sentence usage. </p><h3 id="section---FulfillAdvancementRequirements">Fulfill Advancement Requirements</h3><p>Once a health teacher receives the initial license, it is valid for five years, after which they must advance to a professional license. To be eligible for advancement, teachers must complete a one-year induction program, 50 hours with a mentor, and a graduate-level degree or certificate program. Teachers must also have at least three years of full-time teaching experience. </p><p>Those who can show they plan to advance, but have not completed all requirements after five years, may apply once for a five-year extension of their initial license. To do so, they must be employed at a school, reapply for the initial license, and pay a fee.</p>