Majoring in Education out of State

<p>My daughter has decided to major in Elementry Education. We are from Massachusetts. She is planning to live in Mass after college. She has been accepted to schools in Mass, RI, CT, and NC. Her first choice as of today is in NC. My question is whether or not getting a teaching degree in NC will be a problem when looking for a job in Mass. She plans to study for her masters in Mass while teaching.</p>

<p>Check online-- many states have reciprocity agreements so it won't matter much if you're certified out of state. Also, most states have pretty similar requirements so even without reciprocity, it may just be a matter of taking and passing an additional exam.</p>

<p>Educator</a> Preparation Programs - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education</p>

<p>Appears there is a reciprocity agreement.</p>

<p>Now the only issue is whether not doing student teaching in Mass makes it harder-- well, sometimes. It's often easiest to be hired wherever you were student teaching but that doesn't happen all of the time and isn't necessarily a huge help, it depends.</p>

<p>Hello: Modest is correct, NASDTEC is the interstate teacher certification reciprocity agreement for 48 states. I work in a teacher ed. program in VT. This comes up all the time as our applicants and students are very interested in this topic. There are two ways this can work: she finishes the teacher ed. program and applies for certification in that state, then brings that certification to MA; or she brings all her credentials to MA and applies for certification there. The latter is definitely the most sensible and least time-consuming option. MA will want her to take the MA teacher test (MCAS?) and perhaps jump through a couple of other hoops, but she can start teaching on a provisional license while finalizing these details.</p>

<p>I would suggest that your daughter call your local school district human resources office and ask them this very question, or maybe call a few such offices. Would she be a more attractive candidate with out-of-state credentials? It would be good for her to do this research. Also, it would help if she got on the substitute teacher list in local schools so she could sub when she comes home for winter break, and gets out of school in May. That way she would still have some local connections when it is time to job search.</p>

<p>Also, a lot can happen between now and when she graduates, so I would urge her to pick the school that feels best to her. Lots of 17 or 18 year-olds think they know what they are going to want to do in four years, but life can lead them in other directions!</p>

<p>Thanks for the great info. Anyone out there that has done this?</p>

<p>This is an interesting thread. My daughter is facing a similar decision. VEry difficult to know what to advise her.</p>

<p>What North Carolina school is your daughter considering and why?</p>

<p>I would think Massachusetts would offer numerous elementary education programs in-state. Many states offer financial incentives to in-state resident university students in exchange for their commitments to teach in the state. If your daughter plans to teach in-state anyway, why wouldn't she take advantage of whatever incentives Massachusetts provides?</p>

<p>Elementary education seems to me to be one of the programs it doesn't much matter where your daughter went to school unless she intends to be a researcher or professor rather than a classroom teacher.</p>

<p>The less expensive and the closer to home, the better.</p>

<p>She is looking at Elon and High Point. All the private schools she has been accepted to have offered her merit aid. The State schools in Mass will be around $20K to live on Campus. Tuition is very low, but all the fees and room and board are extremely high. With the merit, some of these private schools will be around the same $$. She fell in love with both the Elon and High Point campus. She is also interested in athletic coaching in the school she will be teaching at and High Point has a minor in athletic coaching. She also likes the climate. But like any 18 year old, she could change her mind tomorrow, so will be better off at a university with many choices.</p>