On Election Day, Nov. 3, Governor Kathy Hochul's office named 188 STEM teachers and 24 school counselors to the New York State Master Teacher Program. Near the top of the same announcement sat a link for everyone who was not on the list, because the application for the next cohort is already open and runs through April 8, 2027. That deadline comes about six weeks earlier in the spring than the May 21 cutoff the 2026 class worked against. The application behind it asks for a Praxis subject score, college transcripts and two references, pieces that depend on a testing calendar, a registrar's office and two busy colleagues.

Members collect a $15,000 stipend in each of their four years, or $60,000 in all. In return they commit to at least 50 hours a year of program-run professional learning, mentor pre-service and early-career educators, and attend regional meetings run through one of nine SUNY host campuses. Eligibility starts with four years of full-time work in a New York public school, a STEM teaching load or a counseling role, and a rating of effective or highly effective. Counselors statewide and teachers outside New York City file through SUNY, while city STEM teachers enter by a separate door.

Who qualifies, and where the lines fall

Teachers need New York certification, a full-time K-12 public school job and at least four years in the classroom, under the criteria posted by SUNY Geneseo, the Finger Lakes host campus. Elementary teachers must be the teacher of record for STEM content, which the program defines as the person who prepares the curriculum, delivers it and assesses the students. Teachers in the upper grades need a course load that is at least 60 percent STEM. Every teacher applicant also needs an effective or highly effective rating on the Annual Professional Performance Review.

The governor's release lists the subjects that count as science, technology, computer science, robotics, coding, engineering, math, integrated STEM and agricultural education. When Hochul expanded the program in January 2022, the stated goal was to bring in counselors and more teachers holding Career and Technical Education certificates tied to high-demand STEM careers. SUNY also courts applicants who clear every rule and carry a second specialty, naming a bilingual education extension, ESL certification, or dual certification in a STEM area or elementary education alongside Students with Disabilities.

Counselors

Counselors face a parallel test: full-time work as a certified K-12 public school counselor, at least four years of it, and an effective or highly effective rating. The Eastchester Union Free School District, describing a counselor it sent to the program, adds that applicants must spend 80 percent or more of their time in direct and indirect service to students. The 24 counselors named this fall include members from New York City districts, so the city route that governs teachers does not apply to them.

The time commitment lands differently on the two groups. Under New York's registration rules, counselors are exempt from continuing education hours, while Professional certificate teachers owe 100 hours of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education in every five-year registration period. Buffalo State's regional office states that the program's 50 annual hours, counted on a September 1 to August 31 year, come on top of any professional development a district or the state already requires.

The New York City route

A STEM teacher in the city's public schools becomes eligible for the state program only as a sitting Master Teacher with Math for America, the nonprofit that runs the program's New York City arm. SUNY's New York City page states that fellows accepted into the state program will not receive an additional stipend. It points city teachers who are not yet fellows to Math for America's own application first. In exchange, those fellows serve as ambassadors to the other nine regions, which can mean leading weekend workshops or interviewing future applicants.

What the application asks for

The application runs on Submittable as six forms, plus reference forms filed by two people the applicant chooses. According to the program FAQ, the first form verifies the applicant's information and eligibility, and the remaining components open only after SUNY confirms eligibility provisionally. From there applicants document prior teaching or counseling experience, upload undergraduate and graduate transcripts, and, where the program's Praxis guide calls for it, supply a score on an accepted Praxis Subject Assessment. Anyone who already sat for an accepted exam can upload a PDF of the official score report.

The references come from a principal or direct supervisor and a colleague, and the FAQ warns that a reference missing the program's requirements will not be accepted, which leaves the application incomplete and unread. Current Master Teachers and Master Counselors can write the colleague recommendation if they meet the same standard. In every section, applicants are told to back their claims with specific examples of mastery and goals for growth across three domains, which for teachers are STEM content, pedagogy and knowledge of their students.

Applicants turned away in an earlier round can email the program office to request feedback before they try again. Program staff also run information sessions on Zoom, with dates posted on the applications page. In past cycles the office has said attendance is optional and carries no weight in selection.

Who got in this fall

More than 60 percent of the new members have spent over ten years in the classroom, and a third have taught for 18 years or longer. Elementary teachers account for 31 percent of the incoming Master Teachers. The teachers include 65 with multiple certifications and 26 certified in Students with Disabilities. Seven hold a TESOL or bilingual extension, and eight teach the CTE subjects of agriculture, computer science or technology education. More than half of the new Master Counselors have worked in counseling for over 12 years, seven serve elementary students and two hold Work-Based Learning certification. Forty of the new members have won grants for classroom materials.

The release says the newcomers represent 138 districts. It counts 35 high-needs districts among them and 50 members working in high-needs systems, including Buffalo, Binghamton, Rochester, Schenectady, Syracuse and Utica. The regional roster in the same document runs from 162 Master Teachers in the North Country to 358 in Western New York. Those figures add up to far more than this fall's 188, which makes the roster a tally of each region's accumulated membership rather than of new arrivals.

State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa connected the honorees to NY Inspires, the department's statewide plan for teaching and learning. "Great teachers and counselors do more than impart knowledge. They inspire curiosity, foster creativity, build confidence, and help students recognize their full potential," Rosa said in the release. SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. spoke to the system's role in training teachers. "As New York State's largest preparer of the next generation of educators, SUNY is proud to support teachers and counselors that exemplify our commitment to student success," King said.

A five-month calendar

An applicant starting this week has about 22 weeks before the April 8 deadline. The pieces that depend on other people belong at the front of that stretch. That means a Praxis registration if no accepted score is on file, transcript requests to every college attended, and early talks with a principal and a colleague who can write to the program's standard. Winter break offers a quieter window for the written sections, which reward concrete classroom examples over general statements of philosophy.

The program office takes questions at [email protected] and asks applicants to allow 24 to 48 hours for a reply. Classes have held within a narrow range in recent years, with 144 teachers and the first 26 counselors named in the fall of 2024, then 177 teachers and 27 counselors in December 2025. Each of the last two classes was announced months after its window closed, so a teacher who files in April should plan on waiting until fall for an answer.