If becoming a teacher in Minnesota is your goal, then you can start by attending an accredited college or university with an approved teacher preparation program. Minnesota has specific requirements for licensure that are met by going through a state-approved program in Minnesota or one of these neighboring states: Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

To obtain your license in Minnesota, you must have your Bachelor’s degree. If you have attended an approved program, you will have taken the appropriate Human Relations courses required by the state as well as the Praxis I and Praxis II Principles of Learning and Teaching and the appropriate content assessment exams. You will need to have a Verification of Completion of State-Approved Licensure Program form completed by the certification officer or registrar at your school and submit this with your application. Finally, you will need a fingerprint card to submit for a criminal background check.

Finding a job in Minnesota will be the next step after you have received your license. Minneapolis Public Schools touts a diverse population with innovative programs such as Arts for Academic Achievement and International Baccalaureate Program. Community involvement is an important aspect of education in St. Paul Public Schools, so the district is currently making changes to institute more programs that fully include parents and the community at large. Duluth and Rochester offer schools of high academic quality in environments rich with medical institutes and high tech companies.

After teaching in Minnesota schools for five years, you will need to renew your license. In order to qualify for this, upon issue of your license, you will need to register with a continuing education committee where you will arrange to take 125 approved clock hours of continuing education over the next five years. Each five year period that you hold your Minnesota license will require an additional 125 clock hours of continuing education.