To teach at any age level in Massachusetts, you are required to have a bachelor's degree. Degrees, however, do not have to be in the field of education or even be granted by an approved "educator preparation" institution. That being said, institutions with educator preparation programs offer better advising and more opportunities to gain classroom experience than other bachelor's programs. Moreover, a bachelor's degree from a state-recognized educator preparation program will allow the student, after graduation and successful completion of the state licensing test, to apply immediately for an Initial Educator License.
If the institution that granted your bachelor's degree is a recognized educator preparation program, then you already have this step completed. If your bachelor's program was not an approved educator preparation program, then you need to consider enrolling in a post-bachelor's educator preparation program. While this isn't required, without completing a preparatory program, the license granted after passing the state tests will be a Preliminary Educator License. After working with a Preliminary Educator License for several years, you will be able to apply for an Initial License. Graduates of education preparation programs begin their careers right away with Initial Licenses. As only an Initial License can be turned into a Professional License, beginning your career without completing an educator preparation program will slow down your career advancement.
While completing the necessary preparatory programs, you should gain experience working with children. Focus on working with children in your target age group. To prepare for work in preschool, consider getting a job at a day care, as a teacher's aid, as a recess supervisor or as a substitute teacher.
Finally, to be a preschool teacher in Massachusetts, you will need to pass two sections of the MTEL. The first section is the general area test, "Communication/Literacy." The second section is the subject matter test. For preschool, you need to pass the "Early Childhood" and "Foundations of Reading" subject tests. Passing these tests and possessing a bachelor's degree qualifies you for a license to work as an educator in Massachusetts. This point is when you are granted either an Initial License or a Preliminary License, depending upon whether you participated in an educator preparation program.
As competition for employment is steep, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (MA DOE) recommends that teachers consider additional licensing. There is an especially high demand for teachers licensed to work with students with disabilities, such as autism, ADHD or dyslexia. Some additional licenses include English as a Second Language, Speech, Teacher of Students with Moderate Disabilities, Teacher of Students with Severe Disabilities, Teacher of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing: American Sign Language/ Total Communication or Oral/Aural Levels, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, Reading Specialist and Speech, Language and Hearing Disorders. Each additional license requires an additional subject test.