The only Minnesota-approved CTE alternative teacher preparation program in the state.

We prepare candidates for teaching careers in Agriculture, Business & Marketing (Communications Technology), Family & Consumer Sciences (Hospitality Services, Creative Design, Early Childhood), Health/Human Services (Medical), Trade & Industry (Construction, Manufacturing, Transportation), and Work-Based Learning.

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Initial Licensure

Start a teaching career with an initial license including teaching methods/SEPs and subject matter standards. For individuals who have not completed a teacher preparation program (e.g., Tier 1 and Tier 2 teachers, industry experts).

Additional Licensure

Add an additional license to an existing Tier 3 or Tier 4 Minnesota teaching license. For individuals who have completed a teacher preparation program (e.g., Tier 3 and Tier 4, teachers on an Out-of-Field Permission).

Teaching Licensure Programs

Comm. Tech. Careers Construction Careers Creative Design Careers Early Childhood Careers Hospitality Careers Manufacturing Careers Medical Careers Transportation Careers

Licensure Endorsement Programs

Work-Based Learning

About the Program

In October 2018, Lakes Country Service Cooperative (LCSC) was approved by the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing & Standards Board (PELSB) as the first alternative teacher preparation provider under Minnesota Statute §122A.2451. In addition, LCSC was awarded a $150,000 Alternative Teacher Preparation Grant from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education to build Career and Technical Education (CTE) licensure programs for incumbent teachers to obtain additional CTE licenses or endorsements.

We now receive more than $500,000 in annual funding from grants, donors, and a state legislative appropriation to fund both initial and additional teacher licensure. Most candidates are able to participate in our program at no cost to them as individuals.





State Licensing Board Approved

We offer an efficient, affordable, attainable, results-oriented, and competency-based licensure program that is a clear pathway to obtain a license, yet nimble enough to provide individualized programs of study based on the identified needs of each licensure candidate. Our program is different than post-secondary instruction. There are no grades or tuition fees. Candidates do not have to spend thousands of dollars on expensive academic textbooks. Everything we do is practical and practitioner based, teaching skills and knowledge in a hands-on and real environment. Each module and project is applicable and immediately useful in the classroom. And we offer all these high-quality experiences on-demand to candidates without the traditional confines of the academic year.

Recruitment & Admission

We recruit teachers through a vast network of partners. Principals, Perkins coordinators, service cooperative leaders, professional organizations, and more recommend our program to teachers. We schedule a meeting with candidates needing licensure support (click here to schedule), and map out their needs and program options.

Advising & Mentoring

Each admitted candidate is appointed an advisor/mentor who will stay engaged with the candidate throughout the program. Candidates work with their advisor/mentor to determine their individualized licensure program needs and design a sequence of modules and field experiences to learn necessary content.

Individualized Learning

Candidates work through our program’s modules asynchronously, at their own pace, with support from their advisor. Candidates complete their program through a variety of experiences including, but not limited to, intensive professional development, asynchronous online instruction through our learning management system, earned certifications and industry credentials, and other forms of demonstrated proficiency via a portfolio.

Review & Recommendation

We consider the content phase of a candidate’s program complete when the candidate has completed each of the four to six modules approved by the MN Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) to fulfill the standards of each license they are seeking. See below for a list of the modules in each licensure program. Following completion, we recommend the candidate to PELSB for licensure.

2024-2025 CTE Core Bootcamps

  • Wednesday, October 2, 2024, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    STEP High School, Anoka, MN
  • Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Lakes Country Service Cooperative, Fergus Falls, MN
  • Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Resource Training & Solutions Service Cooperative, St. Cloud, MN
  • Friday, November 8, 2024, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Southeast Service Cooperative, Rochester, MN
  • Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative, Marshall, MN
  • Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    STEP High School, Anoka, MN
  • Thursday, December 12, 2024, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Lakes Country Service Cooperative, Fergus Falls, MN
  • Wednesday, January 29, 2025, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Resource Service Cooperative, St. Cloud, MN
  • Wednesday, February 5, 2025, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    STEP High School, Anoka, MN
  • Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Lakes Country Service Cooperative, Fergus Falls, MN
  • Tuesday, March 4, 2025, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative, Marshall, MN
  • Thursday, March 6, 2025, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    South Central Service Cooperative, Mankato, MN
  • Wednesday, April 9, 2025, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    STEP High School, Anoka, MN
  • Thursday, April 17, 2025, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Lake Superior College, Duluth, MN
  • Tuesday, April 22, 2025, 9:00 am-3:00 pm
    Lakes Country Service Cooperative, Fergus Falls, MN

Licensure Candidates

Adrian, Alexandria, Anoka-Hennepin, Battle Lake, Brandon-Evansville, Cook County, Crosby-Ironton, Dassel-Cokato, Detroit Lakes, Dover-Eyota, Eden Valley-Watkins, Elk River, Faribault, Frazee-Vergas, Freshwater Education, Greenway, Hayfield, Hermantown, Intermediate #916 (Northeast Metro), Intermediate #917, La Crescent-Hokah, Lanesboro, Le Sueur-Henderson, Lewiston-Altura, Mankato, Minneapolis, Minnewaska, Moorhead, New Prague, Norman County East, North Branch, Osseo, Sauk Centre, St. Francis, St. James, St. Paul, Stillwater, Tracy, Upsala, Wabasso, Wheaton, Winona, and Worthington.

Anoka-Hennepin, Battle Lake, Bertha-Hewitt, Brainerd, Browerville, Byron, Chisago Lakes, Chisholm, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, Cloquet, Crookston, Crosby-Ironton, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton, Frazee-Vergas, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Glencoe-Silver Lake, Grand Rapids, Hayfield, Hibbing, Jordan, Lac qui Parle Valley, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, Lakeview, Lakeville, Lyle, Mahtomedi, Mankato, Marshall, Minneapolis, Moorhead Area, Mora, Mounds View, Nashwauk-Keewatin, Osseo, Pequot Lakes, Pine River-Backus, Princeton, Proctor, Rochester, Rock Ridge, Roseau, Sourcewell, Spring Lake Park, St. Francis Area Schools, St. Michael-Albertville, St. Peter, Wadena-Deer Creek, Waseca, Wayzata, and West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan.

Aitkin, Albert Lea, Alexandria, Anoka-Hennepin, Barnesville, Brooklyn Center, Career Pathways (Saint Paul), Chisholm, Edina, Elk River, Fond du Lac Ojibwe, Goodhue, Granada-Huntley-East Chain, Grand Meadow, Grand Rapids, Hayfield, Hibbing, Hill City, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted, International Falls, Inver Grove Heights, Jackson County Central (Jackson), Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton, Jordan, Kasson-Mantorville, Lake Park-Audubon, Lyle, Mahtomedi, Mesabi East (Aurora), Minneapolis, Minnewaska, Moorhead, Morris, Mounds View, Mountain Iron-Buhl, New Ulm, New York Mills, Northeast Metro 916 (White Bear Lake), Parkers Prairie, Pelican Rapids, Perham-Dent, Rochester, Rock Ridge, Runestone Area Ed District (Alexandria), Saint Paul, Sibley East, South St. Paul, St. Francis, St. Louis County, St. Peter, Tracy, Underwood, Warroad, Wayzata, West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan, Windom, Worthington, and Zumbrota-Mazeppa.

Alexandria, Anoka-Hennepin, Ashby, Barnesville, Battle Lake, Bemidji, Bertha-Hewitt, Brainerd, Brandon-Evansville, Burnsville-Eagan-Savage, Chisago Lakes, Cloquet, Crookston, Crosslake Charter, Deer River, Detroit Lakes, Duluth, East Grand Forks, Elk River, Fergus Falls, Fertile-Beltrami, Forest Lake, Frazee-Vergas, Freshwater Ed. District, Goodridge, Greenbush-Middle River, Hibbing, Lakeville, Lancaster, Le Sueur-Henderson, Lionsgate Academy (Minnetonka), Mankato, Minneapolis, Montevideo, Nashwauk-Keewatin, North Lakes Academy, Northeast Metro 916 (White Bear Lake), Northern Lights (Warba), Osakis, Osseo, Pelican Rapids, Pine City, Redwood (Redwood Falls), Lakes Country Service Cooperative (Fergus Falls), Southwest/West Central Service Cooperative (Marshall), Roseville, Saint Paul, Sauk Centre, Sibley East, Sourcewell (Staples), Spring Lake Park, St. Cloud, St. Francis, St. Louis Park, St. Michael-Albertville, Stillwater, Thief River Falls, Tri-City United (Montgomery), TRIO Wolf Creek (Chisago City), Warroad, Waubun-Ogema-White Earth, and White Bear Lake.

Anoka-Hennepin, Barnum, Bloomington, Cambridge-Isanti, Cloquet, Cromwell-Wright, Fairmont, Grygla, Hancock, Hills-Beaver Creek, La Crescent-Hokah, Minneapolis, Nashwauk-Keewatin, New London-Spicer, Princeton, Rockford, Saint Paul, South Koochiching (Northome), White Bear Lake, and Willow River.

Bloomington, Fergus Falls, Frazee-Vergas, Hawley, Kittson Central (Hallock), Moorhead, and Tri-County (Karlstad).

Licensure Frequently Asked Questions

As a result of a legislative appropriation and funding from several grants, we are generally able to offer our program to candidates at no cost to them personally. There is a limited number of spaces based on this grant funding. Some Perkins consortia have also prioritized teacher recruitment and retention, a required component of their local plans, and may have funding to support these costs.

LCSC’s program is self-paced, not time-based, and takes candidates varying times based on backgrounds and experiences. Some candidates have been able to complete the stack of modules in as short of time as approximately six weeks, some candidates have taken much longer.

LCSC’s licensure program is an alternative teacher preparation program, which is defined in statute as a teacher preparation program based not in higher education. LCSC’s program is highly individualized. LCSC is most concerned about the application of the content and not simply the knowledge of it; which is atypical of most traditional teacher preparation experiences. This does take some getting used to for most candidates, but also provides for a rich learning experience in the end.

We do not award grades or academic credit. The program can take a year or less or several years, depending on the candidate.

LCSC’s program is all virtual and on-demand, except for any required field experiences, which must be school-based under Minnesota Rule. The field experience is job embedded and only in extreme circumstances would require the candidate to take time off their normal teaching duties. We offer some instructional components as in-person professional development as well, which can replace virtual components, but these are opt-in and for candidates who prefer in-person to online. In-person professional development is scheduled regionally across the state, based on demand.

A “CTE license” is a Minnesota teaching license in which the teacher has learned the foundational skills of career and technical education as well as the content and technical skills required for their curriculum. Technically, there is no specific statutory or rule language that refers to a license as a “CTE license;” however, there is language that indicates “appropriately licensed CTE teacher,” which is generally the same. It is also important to note that “CTE licenses” are a category of licenses, not a specific license. CTE licenses are content/career specific, for example agriculture, construction, medical. A full list of current CTE licenses is available here.

In current statute and rule, there is no reference to vocational certification or CTE certification. Vocational licenses have not been issued in Minnesota since 1999. Most people who hold an old vocational license have now retired, but those who have them are still able to renew them. The licenses were very specific to a skillset and aligned to a skilled trade. Minnesota only issues licenses and endorsements to licenses, not certifications. These terms often refer to licenses that are no longer available. To avoid confusion, these terms should not be used.

“I feel like this is the magic piece that has been missing from my career for a long time. I just did not understand what I needed and I would not have had the bandwidth to go back to school while I was raising a family and working full time.”

“Finally, there’s someone helping to make this work. The legislature and PELSB writes it in law and maybe wants it to happen but doesn’t seem to be able to do much to make this easier for us to keep teaching. What LCSC is doing is greatly, greatly appreciated.”

“I’m trying to learn this, but no one has answers for how to meet the standards or realistically move to Tier 3. No one is trying to help those of us at Tier 1. I took a big pay cut coming from industry to be a teacher. Lakes Country Service Cooperative is making a difference. LCSC is helping schools keep teachers.”