{"id":67944,"date":"2025-05-19T07:49:28","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T11:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=67944"},"modified":"2025-05-27T08:36:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T12:36:04","slug":"from-classroom-to-certification-utcs-job-embedded-program-opening-doors-for-aspiring-educators","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/05\/from-classroom-to-certification-utcs-job-embedded-program-opening-doors-for-aspiring-educators\/","title":{"rendered":"From classroom to certification, UTC\u2019s Job-Embedded program opening doors for aspiring educators"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Johanna

Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda teaches class on Monday, Apr. 28, 2025, at East Brainerd Elementary School. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda shared the story of standing in the hallway of East Brainerd Elementary School in 2008 and making herself a promise: Someday, she would work there.<\/p>\n

Her family had recently moved to Chattanooga and her children were about to start school there, she explained. That day, she was simply visiting with her husband. She wasn\u2019t applying for a job and had no official role\u2014but she had a dream.<\/p>\n

Seventeen years later, Castillo Pineda is a Spanish teacher at East Brainerd and the 2025 recipient of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s Job-Embedded Award\u2014an honor given to a student in UTC\u2019s Job-Embedded licensure program who exemplifies commitment, growth and the spirit of teaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never imagined I would move to another country and learn a new language,\u201d said Castillo Pineda, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela. \u201cBut I kept growing\u2014and then I found Job-Embedded. It\u2019s been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo Pineda\u2019s path to teaching spans countries, decades and a love for education. She earned a preschool teaching degree from the University of Zulia in Maracaibo in 1992, followed by a more advanced education degree\u2014called a licenciatura\u2014in 1995. That second credential, she explained, allowed her to open a school, become a principal or even serve as a university professor.<\/p>\n

She taught in Venezuela before her family immigrated to the U.S. in September 2000, first residing in Orlando, Florida. By 2008, Castillo Pineda\u2019s husband\u2019s work led them to relocate to Chattanooga.<\/p>\n

With her children enrolled in East Brainerd, Castillo Pineda began volunteering in classrooms, including her son\u2019s kindergarten class.<\/p>\n

One day, she recalled, a student hugged her and said, \u201cFinally, somebody speaks Spanish like me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that moment, I knew I needed to teach again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Johanna

Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda is the recipient of UTC’s Job-Embedded Award.<\/p><\/div>\n

After receiving her green card in 2015, she was hired to teach in East Brainerd\u2019s ESL (English as a Second Language) program. A transitional role eventually became a long-term one, with Castillo Pineda staying on staff to teach Spanish.<\/p>\n

However, without official U.S. teacher certification, her path forward was stalled. Even after passing several certification exams, she wasn\u2019t sure how to earn a license\u2014until she discovered UTC\u2019s Job-Embedded Program.<\/p>\n

UTC\u2019s Job-Embedded licensure program offers an alternative route to certification for individuals who already hold a bachelor\u2019s degree. Created to address teacher shortages, especially in districts like Hamilton County Schools, the program allows participants to work full-time as teachers while earning their licenses.<\/p>\n

Most coursework is delivered online, supplemented by hybrid and in-person sessions designed for working professionals. Participants like Castillo Pineda are considered teachers of record, serving in classrooms while completing coursework under the guidance of UTC faculty and supervisors.<\/p>\n

For Castillo Pineda, it was a pathway back to the profession she had always loved. That\u2019s where UTC\u2014and especially Charlotte Ellington\u2014came in.<\/p>\n

Ellington, an adjunct faculty member in the UTC School of Education and clinical supervisor of the Job-Embedded program, said the model is designed to support working educators.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur students are already teachers,\u201d Ellington said. \u201cThey aren\u2019t here for the football or the parties. They\u2019re here because they have a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellington first met Castillo Pineda during a UTC seminar and quickly recognized she would need to adapt her own instructional methods.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy directions were all in English,\u201d Ellington explained. \u201cThere was a language hurdle. I realized I needed to change how I supported her.\u201d<\/p>\n

She began translating assignments, providing extra feedback and encouraging questions. Over time, Castillo Pineda gained confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohanna didn\u2019t ask for special treatment,\u201d Ellington said, \u201cbut I quickly realized that we ask our future teachers to support all learners. I had to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience, Ellington added, changed how she teaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think about how often we say we\u2019re preparing educators to support diverse classrooms,\u201d she said. \u201cBut this reminded me that we need to model that same flexibility and responsiveness ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"East

East Brainerd Elementary School teacher Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda is a student in UTC’s Job-Embedded licensure program, which offers certification for individuals who already hold a bachelor’s degree.<\/p><\/div>\n

Dr. Allen Pratt, interim director of UTC\u2019s Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education, said Castillo Pineda\u2019s story reflects what the Job-Embedded program is designed to do: create flexible, high-quality licensure pathways that align with the needs of school districts and aspiring educators.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know there\u2019s a teacher shortage, so anything we can do as a University to certify more teachers helps,\u201d Pratt said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not just about numbers. It\u2019s about creating programs that are responsive, inclusive and designed to prepare people who reflect the communities they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo Pineda, he noted, was not only teaching but serving as a translator and cultural bridge for students and families at East Brainerd Elementary. In a school district with a growing population of non-English-speaking students, her contributions went far beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is exactly the kind of educator this program exists to support,\u201d Pratt said, \u201cand it took creative thinking from faculty like Charlotte Ellington to ensure she could succeed. That\u2019s the kind of teamwork that makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Kim Wingate, director of the UTC School of Education, said the University\u2019s goal is to prepare highly effective educators through both traditional and nontraditional paths.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to meet the needs of our school systems,\u201d Wingate said. \u201cThat includes opening doors for nontraditional candidates like Johanna\u2014people who are already in our communities and want to teach.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wingate said the Job-Embedded program has grown rapidly, increasing from around 10 participants just a few years ago to more than 70. That growth reflects both the demand for certified educators and UTC\u2019s efforts to redesign coursework, scheduling and support systems to meet students where they are.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know these students are working full time,\u201d Wingate said. \u201cThey\u2019re not on campus every day. So we\u2019ve built a program that lets them succeed while still holding to rigorous standards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo Pineda\u2019s story, Wingate said, illustrates the kind of impact those efforts can have.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a testament to persistence, purpose and community,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\u2019s not just earning a license\u2014she\u2019s changing lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cI

\u201cI never imagined I would move to another country and learn a new language,\u201d said Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela. \u201cBut I kept growing\u2014and then I found Job-Embedded. It\u2019s been amazing.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

Castillo Pineda has earned a three-year practitioner license and is working toward her master\u2019s degree\u2014which she expects to complete by spring 2026. She balances her graduate work with full-time teaching, family responsibilities and mentoring others in her school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I don\u2019t quit. I love it. If I need to keep going and earn a doctorate, I will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castillo Pineda said she hopes her story encourages others to pursue teaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollow your dreams no matter what,\u201d she said. \u201cLearn from your mistakes. The only person who can stop you is yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiled, recalling the T-shirt she wore for a recent photo shoot at East Brainerd. Printed across the back were the words: \u201cBelieve in your dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI walk through the school with that shirt,\u201d she said, \u201cand I continue to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even now, nearly two decades after she first walked through the school\u2019s doors, Castillo Pineda said she still feels the pull of that promise she once made in a hallway filled with colorful murals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat first time I came to the school, I looked down the hallway and thought, \u2018One day, I\u2019ll be working here,\u2019 and now I am,\u201d she said. \u201cThat dream came true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC School of Education<\/a><\/p>\n

Job-Embedded Program<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda is a Spanish teacher at East Brainerd Elementary School and the 2025 recipient of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga\u2019s Job-Embedded Award\u2014an honor given to a student in UTC\u2019s Job-Embedded licensure program who exemplifies commitment, growth and the spirit of teaching.<\/p>\n

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