PRPIL - Route 4 to Initial Teacher Licensure

An Alternative Portfolio Route to an Initial License:

In August 2003, Class Measures contracted with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE) Office of Educator Quality to provide a Performance Review Program for Initial Licensure (PRPIL). This program is in response to the Board of Education's new Regulations for Educator Licensure and Preparation Program Approval that was adopted in October 2001. PRPIL is Route 4 in the DESE regulations.

Class Measures is the sole provider of this route.

Marie Almeida, middle school Portuguese teacher enrolled in licensure program, Hudson, Massachusetts

Who is Eligible?

Only those teachers who have fulfilled the following requirements are eligible to be enrolled in the program. The candidate must:

Hold a Massachusetts Middle or Secondary Preliminary license-eligible subject licenses.
Have at least two years of full time employment teaching in the area and level of preliminary licensure. (Enrollment during the third full year of teaching is encouraged.)
Have completed educational coursework/training, 3 courses or at least 120 hours/PDPs, related to the pedagogy of teaching. Professional development related to pedagogy would include but is not limited to: Differentiated Instruction, Classroom Management, Skillful Teaching, Incorporating Technology in the Classroom. See below for opportunities to earn PDPs through online courses offered by Knowledge Delivery Systems.
Come from a district where there is no approved district-based program for obtaining initial licensure or in which the approved program is not readily available to the candidate. (Please go to www.doe.mass.edu/edprep/district.html for a list of approved district-based programs).

You need to be teaching while enrolled in the program at the same subject and grade level in which initial licensure is being sought.

Teachers from public, private, parochial, and out-of-state schools and school collaboratives are welcome to apply to the program.

The program will be delivered through two key players who will work closely with the teacher throughout the program. They are the Instructional Consultant recruited and trained by Class Measures, and a mentor from the teacher's district who holds at least an initial license preferably in the same field as the teacher. It is the teacher's responsibility to find a mentor who is approved by the Principal.
Mentor Responsibilities .pdf>

Stage One: The teacher submits a draft portfolio to the Instructional Consultant. The portfolio will be assembled according to the Preservice Performance Assessment (PPA) form which follows the standards of teaching in Massachusetts.
Portfolio Guidelines .pdf>

The PPA form is available on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's website
http://www.doe.mass.edu/edprep/ppa_form.doc

Guidelines for the PPA forms are available at
http://www.doe.mass.edu/edprep/ppa_guidelines.pdf

Stage Two: The teacher will be observed in his/her classroom three times by the Instructional Consultant and Mentor (observations can happen at different times for a total of six observations).

In Stage Two a pre-observation meeting and post-observation meeting will take place between the Instructional Consultant and teacher. Mentor must be present at the post-observation meeting. Written feedback will be given by the Instructional Consultant after each observation.

Stage Three: The teacher resubmits portfolio with revisions or additions that reflect what was learned in Stage Two.

Stage Four: The candidate meets with consultant and mentor for an overall assessment.
In Stage Four of the review process, the Instructional Consultant and Mentor will review the candidate's overall performance using the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Preservice Performance Assessment and make a decision on the status of their initial licensure.

We are currently accepting applications for the 2010-2011 cohort. There is a non-refundable $75 application fee. The tuition is $2500. Payments can be made via check, money order, Mastercard, Visa or Discover. Checks should be made payable to "Class Measures". We are not able to accept cash payments. There is a $25 fee for bounced checks.

Class Measures is now an approved school for the Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA). For more information see http://www.militaryonesource.com and search for Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts.

Please note that the PRPIL Application document below was updated February 2010. The first page contains form fields which should allow you to type your contact information into the document before printing it. The remaining pages must be printed and completed by hand. The Subject Matter Knowledge for Music document is for Music Teachers only. We do not accept applications by fax or email.

Download »

For more information about the PRPIL program, please contact
Andrea DeMeo, Director, andreaclassmeasures@verizon.net 781-939-5699

Earn PDPs from Knowledge Delivery Systems

Class Measures is pleased to have recently partnered with Knowledge Delivery Systems (KDS). KDS provides online professional development for educators K-12. Several courses offered by KDS provide educators with PDPs valid in Massachusetts.

Educators completing the Performance Review Program for Initial Licensure (PRPIL) must demonstrate 3 courses or the equivalent of 120 hours/PDPs in educational coursework/training related to pedagogy. Class Measures encourages teachers needing additional coursework to consider the following courses offered by KDS and approved for the Class Measures PRPIL program: http://www.kdsi.org/ecom/default.aspx?MClientID=150.