Master Professional Educator Designation Pathways
DESE recognizes the critical role of teacher efficacy in student achievement, and the Master Professional Educator designation is one opportunity DESE has established to reward excellent teachers and keep their talents in the classroom. Master Professional Educators possess deep content knowledge and the pedagogical practices to transfer that knowledge to students and novice teachers
What are the requirements?
DESE has approved several competency-based pathways that provide job-embedded professional learning for teachers seeking the Master Professional Educator designation. A teacher interested in receiving the Master Professional Educator designation must have the following:
- Documentation of three (3) years of licensed teaching experience. This experience may include time spent teaching with a provisional license, but the teacher must have a standard Arkansas teaching license to be eligible to add the designation.
- Evidence of an effective or highly effective rating on TESS on the applicant’s most recent summative teacher evaluation conducted within the previous 4 years. (Educator Effectiveness no longer has access to ratings in EdReflect. The only rating that can be pulled is from the Educator Effectiveness System.)
Why Should I Add the Designation?
The Master Professional Educator designation is a licensure requirement for teachers aspiring to be an experienced mentor teacher to three specific groups of novice teachers:
- Teachers on Aspiring Teacher Permits
- Arkansas Registered Apprentices
- Yearlong supervised residents completing state-approved Educator Preparation Programs (effective Spring 2027)
In addition, teachers with the Master Professional Educator designation may provide students not meeting the reading or math standards at the end of 3rd grade with evidence-based literacy instruction aligned to the science of reading or high-dosage, targeted math tutoring.
Where Do I Get More Information?
Learn more about the currently approved pathways for the Master Professional Educator designation here. Please check frequently for newly approved pathways to the Master Professional Educator designation.
How do I add the designation?
Instructions for adding a career continuum designation can be found on this page.
