Brittany Caniglia says life experience combined with CarolinaCAP gives her a bright outlook on teaching
There’s a meme that depicts oldest daughter and oldest granddaughter as someone who has everything figured out, who knows what needs to get done and does it. Brittany Caniglia fit that mold in her family and always knew that leading a classroom was the career for her. In high school, she was a teacher cadet and continued that path through college. During college, her husband’s military job forced a move and Caniglia was forced to make a difficult decision: stay separated for the remainder of her college career or make the move herself. Caniglia found an online program to finish her degree and made the choice to put family first.
“I received my degree in early childhood development and taught preschool,” says Caniglia. “This program served me well as we made many more moves. I knew when we returned to South Carolina, I would find a classroom and transition into teaching.”
This seemed like a simple transition, after all, Caniglia had worked in many schools with young students and helped them achieve their learning goals. Her specific degree made her ineligible for the alternative certification programs that were previously available in the state.
“It was really disheartening,” says Caniglia. “I had all the experiences and a background in education. I had the knowledge, and the only thing missing was a South Carolina teaching license.”
Caniglia did not give up. She began working as a preschool behavior therapist. Unfortunately, with a growing family of her own, the hours and demands of the job led to burnout. She began spending her lunch break every day researching options that lead to teacher certification.
“I found a newspaper article that mentioned a new program called the Carolina Collaborative for Alternative Certification (CarolinaCAP),” says Caniglia. “I searched for the program online, but they did not even have a website yet. I finally found the contact information for the program’s manager and followed up weekly until the application went live.”
While Caniglia’s experience was primarily in preschool classrooms, the CarolinaCAP program had an opening in middle school English and language arts. Caniglia was nervous but jumped right in and felt ready to start the year. Even though the pandemic pushed her job fully virtual, she says it was incredible.
“I loved sixth grade,” says Caniglia. “It really came together, and I truly found my place. I am so thankful for how things worked out.”
She completed the program at that school and is still teaching sixth grade. Even though her time in CarolinaCAP is over, she is continuing to share the benefits of the program as a CarolinaCAP Ambassador. She shares that the coursework was tailored to what she faced daily in the classroom. The program’s directors thought of everything someone new to teaching would need to know. She came up with the idea of “ambassadors” when a potential participant reached out after she shared a story of her time in the program on social media.
“I asked the leadership if they thought that there would be a place for me to serve as a representative between future candidates and the program administration,” says Caniglia. “It took a couple years to implement, but I am excited to serve! I talk about it every chance I can.”
Caniglia shared that after completing the program she feels completely set up for success in her classroom. She had wonderful relationships with her mentor educators and her CarolinaCAP coach.
“For me, the transition has been fairly seamless,” says Caniglia. “I feel very grateful to be in this position. I think when you have life experience working in other fields, you have an appreciation for the benefits of teaching. Even though the job is demanding, my perspective on the role is bright.”