How to Become a Teacher in Delaware

Your Starting Point Determines Your Path

Delaware offers three routes into the classroom, and the right one depends entirely on your current credentials. Picking the wrong route wastes months — and in some cases forces you to start over.

Traditional route: You completed (or are completing) a state-approved teacher preparation program at a regionally accredited four-year college. You'll graduate with student teaching experience, a degree, and institutional recommendation already in hand.

Alternative Routes to Certification (ARTC): You have a bachelor's degree in something other than education. Delaware's ARTC program lets you teach full-time as a paid teacher of record from day one under a temporary Certificate of Eligibility, while completing graduate coursework over two years.

91-day substitute route: You have a non-education bachelor's degree and want to bypass student teaching entirely. Complete 91 days of continuous long-term substitute teaching in a single assignment within the prior three years, pass the Praxis content exam, and you qualify for the student teaching equivalency.

Career Changers: The ARTC Path

If you're coming from outside education, the ARTC program is the most direct route. Here's what you need:

• A bachelor's degree with typically a 3.0 GPA; certain high-need pathways accept a 2.75 minimum
• At least 24 semester credits in the subject you want to teach
• An employment offer from a Delaware public or charter school
• Passing scores on the relevant Praxis II content exam

Once accepted, you enter the classroom immediately as a teacher of record — not an intern or observer. Over two years, you complete roughly 15 semester credits of graduate-level coursework and professional seminars through an approved ARTC provider like the University of Delaware or Wilmington University.

The state issues you a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) while you complete the program. This is a real credential that lets you teach independently and earn full salary.

The Application Sequence

Regardless of your route, the administrative process follows the same six-step sequence:

1. Audit your transcripts — Confirm your degree is from a regionally accredited institution and count your content-area credits
2. Create an EdAccess account — This is Delaware's single sign-on portal; select "eLearning" if you're not yet employed by a district
3. Apply in DEEDS 3.0 — Submit your license and certificate application with the $100 fee (credit card only)
4. Complete background clearances — Fingerprinting through IdentoGO ($38–$85), Child Protection Registry check ($14), and TB test
5. Route your documents — Transcripts direct from your registrar to [email protected], Praxis scores via code R7065
6. Get hired — Your license issues as "inactive" until a district submits employment verification to the DDOE

What Career Changers Underestimate

The most common delay isn't academic — it's administrative. Form E rejections catch out-of-state applicants who try submitting the form themselves (only your former employer can send it). Transcript rejections happen when applicants send copies rather than having the registrar transmit them directly. And the $100 application fee must be paid by credit card specifically — debit cards are rejected by the state payment gateway.

The hiring timeline creates real financial pressure. Between June and September, DEEDS processing stretches to six weeks. A certified first-year teacher earns roughly $253 per day against a substitute rate of $113. Every day of delay costs $140 in lost wages.

What Teaching Pays in Delaware

Delaware's minimum starting salary for a certified teacher with a bachelor's degree is $46,851 per year. That rises with experience and additional credentials — a master's degree bumps you up the salary scale, and optional National Board certification unlocks both an Advanced License and state salary supplements.

The $100 application fee is fully reimbursable under House Bill 307 once you're hired by a Delaware public or charter school and fully licensed and certified.

The Delaware Teacher Certification Guide maps every step for all three routes — traditional, ARTC, and substitute — with document checklists and timeline trackers built for career changers navigating the process for the first time.

See more Delaware guides →