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Lead and assistant teacher education requirements

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become a lead and assistant teacher. Lead and assistant teachers usually study early childhood education, psychology, or human development. 45% of lead and assistant teachers hold a bachelor's degree, and 26% hold an associate degree. We analyzed 1,756 real lead and assistant teacher resumes to see exactly what lead and assistant teacher education sections show.

The most common colleges for lead and assistant teachers are the University of Phoenix and the University of Phoenix.

There are also many online lead and assistant teacher courses to help get the education required to be a lead and assistant teacher.

There are certain lead and assistant teacher certifications that you should consider. These lead and assistant teacher certifications include Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) and Medical Assistant.

What education do you need to become a lead and assistant teacher?

What degree do you need to be a lead and assistant teacher?

The most common degree for lead and assistant teachers is bachelor's degree, with 45% of lead and assistant teachers earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are associate degree degree at 26% and associate degree degree at 17%.
  • Bachelor's, 45%
  • Associate, 26%
  • High School Diploma, 17%
  • Master's, 6%
  • Other Degrees, 6%

What should I major in to become a lead and assistant teacher?

You should major in early childhood education to become a lead and assistant teacher. 21% of lead and assistant teachers major in early childhood education. Other common majors for a lead and assistant teacher include psychology and human development.

Most common colleges for lead and assistant teachers

Lead and assistant teachers often get their degrees at University of Phoenix, Ashford University, and University of Kansas. Here are the most common colleges for lead and assistant teachers in the US based on their resumes.
Lead and assistant teacher common collegePercentages
University of Phoenix11.76%
Ashford University9.24%
University of Kansas6.72%
Liberty University5.88%
Grand Canyon University5.88%

Best majors for lead and assistant teachers

Best colleges for lead and assistant teachers

The best colleges for lead and assistant teachers are Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University, and Northwestern University.

A lead and assistant teacher with advanced education typically earns a higher salary and has access to better jobs. That's why Zippia looked into the best colleges for lead and assistant teachers. We based this list on several metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of graduates, the ratio of working vs. non-working students ten years after admission, the average cost of attendance, and median debt for graduates who become lead and assistant teachers.

1. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

2. Fairfield University

Fairfield, CT • Private

In-state tuition

$48,350

Enrollment

4,103

3. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

4. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

5. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Enrollment

16,205

6. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Enrollment

13,871

7. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Enrollment

34,637

8. University of Washington

Seattle, WA • Private

In-state tuition

$11,207

Enrollment

30,905

9. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

In-state tuition

$53,740

Enrollment

5,567

10. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

In-state tuition

$49,816

Enrollment

6,840

20 best online courses for lead and assistant teachers

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1. Leading and Developing Top Talent

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This course offers seasoned and up-and-coming leaders a clear, concise overview of hiring for team culture, the concepts and practices of building a productive environment for remote and hybrid teams, and leading organizational strategies, which begins with developing a strategic plan, creating SMART goals, and determining the most critical key performance indicators or metrics to manage and measure the plan’s success. Studies have shown that leading and developing talent includes creating a...

2. ESG and Social Activism

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In this course, you will get an overview of the impact of contemporary ESG ratings and how a company balances ESG issues against its financial performance. You will evaluate the effectiveness of corporate authenticity and the impacts of politics when building corporate ESG policy. You will also learn about social activism’s ability to disrupt markets, and the roles that stakeholders play when dealing with financial markets. Next, you will learn about corporate Boards, and the importance of...

3. Active Directory & Group Policy Administration for IT Techs

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4. Active Directory on Windows Server

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Learn how to deploy and manage all aspects of Active Directory, Group Policy, DNS and many more technologies...

5. ART of the MOOC: Activism and Social Movements

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This course is for activists, artists, and thinkers who wish to better understand and participate in social change. We will focus on the prolific and exciting overlap between socially engaged art and cultural practices generated by recent social movements around the world. Rather than assess the political efficacy of activities like mourning, listening, organizing, dancing, or partying, the lectures examine such cultural activities next to, and within, contemporary art practice. Included in the...

6. The Teacher and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

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Social and emotional learning, or SEL, programs have flourished in schools during the last decade. These programs vary widely but most share a concern for five individual, student competencies: self awareness; self-management; social awareness; relationship skills; and finally responsible decision making. It is important for teachers and parents to know about and understand these programs. While lots of SEL programs emphasize K-12 student social and emotional learning, only a very few programs...

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8. [Active Directory] Management using Windows PowerShell

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9. THINK GLOBAL: TEACHERS TRAINING COURSE (IDP-ICE)

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A group of seven European partners from Catalonia, Belgium, and Wales worked together on the Erasmus+ funded ‘Think Global’ project on global competence. The project seeks to address the following research question through development and piloting of practical classroom activities: What is global competence, and how can it be learned effectively? The Think Global project explores, through international collaboration, how global competence is defined, taught, learned, and measured in the...

10. Azure Active Directory And Azure AD Domain Services

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11. PowerShell for Active Directory Administrators

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12. Active Directory and Windows Server 40+ Hour with Labs

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Domain Controllers (DC), Global Catalog, FSMO, Groups, Users, Security, Domains and Forests ,Trusts, GPO, much more....

13. Mastering Group Policy on Windows Server

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14. Azure Active Directory Masterclass

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15. Azure Active Directory for.NET Developers (AD and B2C)

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16. Azure - Active Directory

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19. Mindfulness for Life Coaching Success: Teacher Certificate

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Transform Lives with Mindfulness & Meditation: Accredited Life Coach Teacher Certificate (2023)...

20. TOTAL: Active Directory with Windows Server 2016

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Identity, Access, and Authentication with Microsoft AD and Identity with Windows Server 2016...

Top 10 most affordable universities for lead and assistant teachers

The most affordable schools for lead and assistant teachers are Hunter College of the City University of New York, california state university - long beach, and california state university - fullerton.

If the best universities for lead and assistant teachers are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for lead and assistant teachers.

1. Hunter College of the City University of New York

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,182

Cost of attendance

13,998

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

3. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,886

Cost of attendance

17,645

4. Lehman College of the City University of New York

Bronx, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,210

Cost of attendance

14,359

5. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

6. Brigham Young University

Provo, UT • Private

In-state tuition

$5,620

Cost of attendance

18,136

7. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,309

Cost of attendance

16,714

8. California State University - Dominguez Hills

Carson, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,942

Cost of attendance

14,469

9. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

10. University of South Florida

Tampa, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,410

Cost of attendance

20,456

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for lead and assistant teachers

The hardest universities for lead and assistant teachers to get into are Vanderbilt University, Johns Hopkins University, and Northwestern University.

Some great schools for lead and assistant teachers are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for lead and assistant teachers based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN • Private

Admissions rate

10%

SAT average

1,514

2. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,508

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

13%

SAT average

1,445

5. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,420

6. New York University

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

20%

SAT average

1,419

7. University of Rochester

Rochester, NY • Private

Admissions rate

29%

SAT average

1,422

8. Duke University

Durham, NC • Private

Admissions rate

9%

SAT average

1,516

9. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

Admissions rate

8%

SAT average

1,492

10. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

Admissions rate

40%

SAT average

1,376

Top 10 easy-to-apply-to universities for lead and assistant teachers

The easiest schools for lead and assistant teachers to get into are D'Youville College, mount saint mary's university, and holy names university.

Some schools are much easier to get into. If you want to start your career as a lead and assistant teacher without much hassle, check out the list of schools where you will be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores, and average salary of students six years after graduation to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into for lead and assistant teachers.

1. D'Youville College

Buffalo, NY • Private

Admissions rate

100%

SAT average

1,072

2. Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, CA • Private

Admissions rate

84%

SAT average

1,031

3. Holy Names University

Oakland, CA • Private

Admissions rate

70%

SAT average

849

4. The University of Texas Permian Basin

Odessa, TX • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,046

5. Felician University

Lodi, NJ • Private

Admissions rate

81%

SAT average

999

6. Nyack College

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

98%

SAT average

999

7. College of Mount Saint Vincent

Bronx, NY • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,021

8. Bluefield College

Bluefield, VA • Private

Admissions rate

95%

SAT average

980

9. La Roche College

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

99%

SAT average

1,008

10. Ottawa University

Ottawa, KS • Private

Admissions rate

78%

SAT average

1,024

Average lead and assistant teacher salary by education level

According to our data, lead and assistant teachers with a Master's degree earn the highest average salary, at $37,524 annually. Lead and assistant teachers with a Doctorate degree earn an average annual salary of $36,819.
Lead and assistant teacher education levelLead and assistant teacher salary
Master's Degree$37,524
High School Diploma or Less$28,068
Bachelor's Degree$33,298
Doctorate Degree$36,819
Some College/ Associate Degree$28,761

Lead and assistant teacher education FAQs

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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