Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda teaches class on Monday, Apr. 28, 2025, at East Brainerd Elementary School. Photo by Angela Foster.
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.
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’t applying for a job and had no official role—but she had a dream.
Seventeen years later, Castillo Pineda is a Spanish teacher at East Brainerd and the 2025 recipient of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s Job-Embedded Award—an honor given to a student in UTC’s Job-Embedded licensure program who exemplifies commitment, growth and the spirit of teaching.
“I never imagined I would move to another country and learn a new language,” said Castillo Pineda, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela. “But I kept growing—and then I found Job-Embedded. It’s been amazing.”
Castillo Pineda’s 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—called a licenciatura—in 1995. That second credential, she explained, allowed her to open a school, become a principal or even serve as a university professor.
She taught in Venezuela before her family immigrated to the U.S. in September 2000, first residing in Orlando, Florida. By 2008, Castillo Pineda’s husband’s work led them to relocate to Chattanooga.
With her children enrolled in East Brainerd, Castillo Pineda began volunteering in classrooms, including her son’s kindergarten class.
One day, she recalled, a student hugged her and said, “Finally, somebody speaks Spanish like me.”
“In that moment, I knew I needed to teach again.”
Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda is the recipient of UTC’s Job-Embedded Award.
After receiving her green card in 2015, she was hired to teach in East Brainerd’s 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.
However, without official U.S. teacher certification, her path forward was stalled. Even after passing several certification exams, she wasn’t sure how to earn a license—until she discovered UTC’s Job-Embedded Program.
UTC’s Job-Embedded licensure program offers an alternative route to certification for individuals who already hold a bachelor’s 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.
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.
For Castillo Pineda, it was a pathway back to the profession she had always loved. That’s where UTC—and especially Charlotte Ellington—came in.
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.
“Our students are already teachers,” Ellington said. “They aren’t here for the football or the parties. They’re here because they have a goal.”
Ellington first met Castillo Pineda during a UTC seminar and quickly recognized she would need to adapt her own instructional methods.
“My directions were all in English,” Ellington explained. “There was a language hurdle. I realized I needed to change how I supported her.”
She began translating assignments, providing extra feedback and encouraging questions. Over time, Castillo Pineda gained confidence.
“Johanna didn’t ask for special treatment,” Ellington said, “but I quickly realized that we ask our future teachers to support all learners. I had to do the same.”
The experience, Ellington added, changed how she teaches.
“I think about how often we say we’re preparing educators to support diverse classrooms,” she said. “But this reminded me that we need to model that same flexibility and responsiveness ourselves.”
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.
Dr. Allen Pratt, interim director of UTC’s Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education, said Castillo Pineda’s 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.
“We know there’s a teacher shortage, so anything we can do as a University to certify more teachers helps,” Pratt said. “But it’s not just about numbers. It’s about creating programs that are responsive, inclusive and designed to prepare people who reflect the communities they serve.”
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.
“She is exactly the kind of educator this program exists to support,” Pratt said, “and it took creative thinking from faculty like Charlotte Ellington to ensure she could succeed. That’s the kind of teamwork that makes a difference.”
Dr. Kim Wingate, director of the UTC School of Education, said the University’s goal is to prepare highly effective educators through both traditional and nontraditional paths.
“We want to meet the needs of our school systems,” Wingate said. “That includes opening doors for nontraditional candidates like Johanna—people who are already in our communities and want to teach.”
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’s efforts to redesign coursework, scheduling and support systems to meet students where they are.
“We know these students are working full time,” Wingate said. “They’re not on campus every day. So we’ve built a program that lets them succeed while still holding to rigorous standards.”
Castillo Pineda’s story, Wingate said, illustrates the kind of impact those efforts can have.
“She’s a testament to persistence, purpose and community,” she said. “She’s not just earning a license—she’s changing lives.”
“I never imagined I would move to another country and learn a new language,” said Johanna Gabriela Castillo Pineda, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela. “But I kept growing—and then I found Job-Embedded. It’s been amazing.”
Castillo Pineda has earned a three-year practitioner license and is working toward her master’s degree—which she expects to complete by spring 2026. She balances her graduate work with full-time teaching, family responsibilities and mentoring others in her school.
“It’s hard,” she said. “But I don’t quit. I love it. If I need to keep going and earn a doctorate, I will.”
Castillo Pineda said she hopes her story encourages others to pursue teaching.
“Follow your dreams no matter what,” she said. “Learn from your mistakes. The only person who can stop you is yourself.”
She smiled, recalling the T-shirt she wore for a recent photo shoot at East Brainerd. Printed across the back were the words: “Believe in your dreams.”
“I walk through the school with that shirt,” she said, “and I continue to believe.”
Even now, nearly two decades after she first walked through the school’s doors, Castillo Pineda said she still feels the pull of that promise she once made in a hallway filled with colorful murals.
“That first time I came to the school, I looked down the hallway and thought, ‘One day, I’ll be working here,’ and now I am,” she said. “That dream came true.”
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