Educator Pathways, Built With Purpose: Investing in Wilmington’s Educators and Students

Three years ago, when Melanie Santiago Rosado began her journey as an educator, working at Pulaski Early Education Center as an instructional paraprofessional, she knew she had a passion for leading in the classroom, but as a mother of three, working full-time, she wasn’t sure when or how she might be able to take the next step and become a certified teacher.

Committed to her students and her school, Santiago Rosado continued her path, serving as a kindergarten classroom leader and now, with support from the Wilmington Learning Collaborative and a program called College Unbound, she is on track to graduate in May with her Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership. 

She describes it as a transformative opportunity that doesn’t come every day, but her story is just one of many emerging from the WLC’s Teacher Leader and Educator Pathway programs.

Since launching in 2023, the WLC has been collaborating with organizations like Transcend, Jounce Partners, and Rodel, as well as the Delaware Department of Education, to address Wilmington’s teacher shortage and build a holistic set of supports for educators throughout every stage of their careers.

Through needs-assessment research and ongoing conversations with school teams, the WLC learned that some of the biggest barriers to entering the profession appear at the very beginning of the certification journey. Many aspiring educators—often paraprofessionals or long-term substitutes already working in schools—need support navigating certification exams and completing degree requirements for alternative routes to licensure.

According to Director of Educator Pathways Carly Highsmith, these insights came directly from listening to educators closest to the work.

“Two years ago, I began meeting with educators in our schools. I met with long-term substitutes, paraprofessionals covering teacher vacancies, and other support staff to hear their stories,” Highsmith says. 

“I wanted to know more about who they were and what barriers they faced to becoming a certified teacher. What are the needs that we can help fill and support? Not just in general for educators, but what are your individual barriers and needs as the people who are already here and committed to working with students in this school? And then I began crafting and designing programs to meet those needs.”

To address these first stops on the journey, WLC developed two certification-focused initiatives: the Teacher Assessment Preparation Program (TAPP), which helps candidates prepare for the Praxis exam, and the Transformative Education Pathway (TEP), which supports participants in earning a bachelor’s degree and transitioning into an Alternative Routes to Certification program. Together, these programs form the foundation of WLC’s educator pipeline, creating clear and supported entry points into the classroom.

Journey to Certification: Support for Aspiring Educators

Teacher Assessment Preparation Program (TAPP)

When evaluating the needs of WLC schools, Highsmith says many schools needed support in helping paraprofessionals and long-term substitute teachers navigate certification, including passing the Praxis exam.

In partnership with Your Teacher Tutors, support through the TAPP program is tailored to each individual and designed to meet them where they are. Highsmith explains that candidates taking required exams like PRAXIS often face challenges ranging from test anxiety to entering the profession through pathways that differ from traditional educator preparation routes. 

TAPP directly addresses these challenges by pairing content knowledge small group tutoring with confidence-building strategies, including study groups, one-on-one tutoring, and practice exams. Upon completion of the course, participants also receive an exam voucher, eliminating a key financial barrier. 

For Rasheeda Newsuan, TAPP has been a consistent source of accountability and support since joining the original Fall 2024 cohort. She has remained engaged through Spring and Fall 2025 sessions, steadily advancing toward full certification. To date, she has passed two of her four required Elementary Praxis exams—an important milestone as she works to complete her Alternative Routes to Certification (ARTC) program.

After years of teaching in the private sector, Newsuan returned to education in the public school system as a long-term substitute before becoming a district-employed teacher. With support from TAPP, she entered an ARTC program and earned her Emergency Certification. Now, with her required coursework complete, passing her final two Praxis exams remains her last step. She credits the program’s structure for helping her move forward with clarity and confidence.

“What has been most impactful is the accountability. Consistency has been essential for internalizing the information,” Newsuan shared. “Before, I would look at the whole exam and feel anxious—it felt like such a big project. TAPP helps you break it down into smaller steps. It alleviates that anxiety and helps you see what to expect. It takes you through the process strategically, not just the outcome. And having access to 240 Tutoring has been a great help for studying and self-assessment.”

Transformative Education Pathway (TEP)

In addition to passing the Praxis exam, candidates entering Alternative Routes to Certification (ARTC) programs are required to hold a bachelor’s degree. For individuals ready to take this step, the WLC partners with College Unbound through TEP, offering participants the opportunity to earn a tuition-free bachelor’s degree. 

College Unbound is a school that reimagines higher education for adults. It is an innovative model that makes higher education possible for adult learners—working professionals, parents, and community leaders—by integrating learning into their life, work, and passions. 

TEP participants enroll in a full-time accelerated program that allows them to graduate in an average of two and a half years while continuing to work full-time. The WLC provides scholarship funds to cover tuition and reduce financial barriers throughout the program.

Highsmith shares, “I remember an educator expressing her desire to continue teaching, but standing firm in her belief that she could not go back to school. She explained that it had been over 30 years since she was last in school, and she didn’t believe the traditional college setting would meet her needs. She also had negative experiences in high school that made her apprehensive about her ability to be a successful college student. Going back to school felt like an impossible feat until she was introduced to College Unbound. 

Now, she is in her second year of college and thriving academically as a student. The College Unbound model makes that possible. This partnership is meeting a unique need for a subset of educators.”

Santiago Rosado’s experience is another example of College Unbound’s impact. She credits the program’s flexibility for her success, as well as the tailored support that the WLC’s partnership provides.

“This program really is tailored and accommodates those of us who are reincorporating into college life and wondering how to get back on track for work and prepare themselves for the professional field with the proper tools,” she said. “They have all the courses online. They have asynchronous courses and synchronous courses, so you can really choose what fits best, and the courses are adapted to our experience. They’re there to hear us out and provide us with what we individually need.”

After graduating, participants receive support in entering an ARTC program and commit to a teaching placement in a Wilmington school for 3 years.

For anyone considering the program, Santiago Rosado’s advice is not to overthink it.

“I think I thought about it for about a year,” she said. “I thought it would be complicated, that it was going to be hard for me to navigate, but it wasn’t. College Unbound really guides you. And the fact that we have somebody from the WLC guiding our lab cohort has been a wonderful tool to connect both spaces.”

Advancing the Profession: Supporting Current Educators

In addition to certification-focused initiatives, WLC invests in the growth of educators already teaching in Wilmington schools. Through its Teacher Leadership Design Fellowship and Teacher Innovation Lab programs, experienced teachers have opportunities to strengthen their practice, explore new strategies, and take on leadership roles—all while remaining in the classroom. These programs complement the certification pathways, reflecting WLC’s holistic approach to developing educators at every stage of their careers.

A Growing Community of Educators

As the WLC continues to develop its signature programs, Highsmith says early results are encouraging and will continue to inform the expansion of programs to further their impact.

Now on its third cohort, the TAPP program has helped 11 educators pass their Praxis exams and continue on their path to certification, and currently, 40 more participants are progressing towards that milestone. In follow-up surveys, 92% rated the effectiveness of the program as very or extremely effective in exam preparation, and 83% of participants said they felt prepared or very prepared at the end of the course.

Similarly, the TEP program is currently serving a cohort of nine educators who have finished their first year of coursework, including summer classes, and Santiago Rosado, who was able to apply previous credits toward her bachelor’s, is poised to become the program’s first graduate.

WLC Executive Director Dr. Burgos emphasizes, “Our work is about building an ecosystem of support for educators, through pathways, professional learning, and opportunities to lead. When educators are supported in this way, students, schools, and entire communities benefit.”

Speaking to her experience, Santiago Rosado echoed Dr. Burgos’ sentiments.

“I feel special, and I have a lot of peers and co-workers who feel like this is wonderful what they’re doing for us,” she said. “But they’re not only really doing it for us. They’re investing in our schools, highlighting all the possibilities and providing the resources that we’ve been lacking for our schools and our students to be served properly.”