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Pre-Practicum Guidelines Public Comment

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is seeking Public Comment on the Guidelines for the Pre-Practicum for Teachers. We are looking for your feedback, including support for the draft of these guidelines. Interested individuals are asked to share their support and comments by September 15, 2025. Your input will inform final revisions to the Guidelines for the Pre-Practicum for Teachers and ultimately impact the effective preparation for all future educators in Massachusetts.

Here is the proposed timeline:

September 15, 2025: Public Comment closes

October 2025: Final Guidelines are released

Academic Year 2026-2027: All sponsoring organizations will be expected to implement updated Guidelines.

Please see the draft guidelines and provide your feedback in this survey.

1. Are you providing comment as an individual, a representative of an organization/district, or as a collective?

Please enter an 'other' value for this selection.

2. Please provide names and affiliations associated with the collective comment group here.

When answering the demographic questions below, select all answers that apply within your collective.

2. What is your name?

3. What is your email address? This question requires a valid email address.

4. What is the name of your organization/school/district?

5. What is your race/ethnicity?

6. What is your role?

Candidate/Completer of an ed prep program in MA
Current educator
Supervisor of candidates in an ed prep program (i.e. program supervisor, supervising practitioner)
Faculty of pre-practicum courses
Advisor/candidate support staff for candidates in an ed prep program
SO leadership
K-12 school/district educator
Other - Write In Please enter an 'other' value for this selection.

7. Have you reviewed the draft Guidelines for the Pre-Practicum for Teachers?

8. The draft Guidelines for Pre-Practicum for Teachers...

Space Cell	Agree	Somewhat Agree	Neither Agree or Disagree	Somewhat Disagree	Disagree
Are clearly written.	Are clearly written. : Agree	Are clearly written. : Somewhat Agree	Are clearly written. : Neither Agree or Disagree	Are clearly written. : Somewhat Disagree	Are clearly written. : Disagree
Are easy to implement.	Are easy to implement. : Agree	Are easy to implement. : Somewhat Agree	Are easy to implement. : Neither Agree or Disagree	Are easy to implement. : Somewhat Disagree	Are easy to implement. : Disagree
Are attainable.	Are attainable. : Agree	Are attainable. : Somewhat Agree	Are attainable. : Neither Agree or Disagree	Are attainable. : Somewhat Disagree	Are attainable. : Disagree
Are rigorous.	Are rigorous. : Agree	Are rigorous. : Somewhat Agree	Are rigorous. : Neither Agree or Disagree	Are rigorous. : Somewhat Disagree	Are rigorous. : Disagree
Will support candidate learning in their early stages of educator preparation.	Will support candidate learning in their early stages of educator preparation. : Agree	Will support candidate learning in their early stages of educator preparation. : Somewhat Agree	Will support candidate learning in their early stages of educator preparation. : Neither Agree or Disagree	Will support candidate learning in their early stages of educator preparation. : Somewhat Disagree	Will support candidate learning in their early stages of educator preparation. : Disagree
Articulates purposeful connections and coherence to DESE’s Educational Vision and other related resources.	Articulates purposeful connections and coherence to DESE’s Educational Vision and other related resources. : Agree	Articulates purposeful connections and coherence to DESE’s Educational Vision and other related resources. : Somewhat Agree	Articulates purposeful connections and coherence to DESE’s Educational Vision and other related resources. : Neither Agree or Disagree	Articulates purposeful connections and coherence to DESE’s Educational Vision and other related resources. : Somewhat Disagree	Articulates purposeful connections and coherence to DESE’s Educational Vision and other related resources. : Disagree
Provide clear background context for the development of revisions.	Provide clear background context for the development of revisions. : Agree	Provide clear background context for the development of revisions. : Somewhat Agree	Provide clear background context for the development of revisions. : Neither Agree or Disagree	Provide clear background context for the development of revisions. : Somewhat Disagree	Provide clear background context for the development of revisions. : Disagree

9. Please use this space to provide additional information on your ratings above.

10. The draft Guidelines for Pre-Practicum for Teachers proposes a change that one of the gateways must be focused on curriculum literacy. How supportive is this change to ensure that educators are prepared to support all students?

Supportive	Somewhat Supportive	Neutral	Somewhat Unsupportive	Unsupportive
Supportive	Somewhat Supportive	Neutral	Somewhat Unsupportive	Unsupportive

11. The draft Guidelines for Pre-Practicum for Teachers proposes a change that one of the observations may be virtual. How supportive is this change to ensure that educators are prepared to support all students?

Supportive	Somewhat Supportive	Neutral	Somewhat Unsupportive	Unsupportive
Supportive	Somewhat Supportive	Neutral	Somewhat Unsupportive	Unsupportive

12. Previously, the pre-practicum expectations addressed both the PSTs and SMKs. The draft Guidelines for Pre-Practicum for Teachers are aligned with regulatory requirements outlined in 603 CMR 7.02, which define pre-practicum as early field-based experiences with diverse student learners to address the PSTs. How supportive is this change to ensure that educators are prepared to support all students?

Supportive	Somewhat Supportive	Neutral	Somewhat Unsupportive	Unsupportive
Supportive	Somewhat Supportive	Neutral	Somewhat Unsupportive	Unsupportive

13. Do you foresee any unintended consequences that may arise as a result of these changes to the draft Guidelines for Pre-Practicum for Teachers?

14. Please provide any comments specific to the proposed changes.