La Salle is helping Philadelphia area high school and adult students
continue their career path.

Whether an individual is a rising high school student with an eye toward college, an adult learner ready to take a first step to a degree, or someone in the workforce looking to advance their career, La Salle University has a number of pathways to higher education attainment.

“La Salle University is deeply rooted in the Philadelphia community, and we are proud to offer pathways that enable local high school students and adult learners to pursue their educational goals right here in their hometown,” Frank J. Mosca, Ph.D., interim dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, said. “Our programs are designed to meet students where they are and help them achieve their academic and professional goals in a supportive environment that fosters personal growth and community engagement.”

Dual Enrollment

For highly motivated junior and senior high school students in Philadelphia public or private schools, La Salle offers numerous pathways to earning college credits through dual enrollment programs where students are simultaneously enrolled in both high school and college level classes. Students experience college life while learning from La Salle faculty.

“Students in our dual enrollment programs explore diverse disciplines, consider career and major paths, and gain college experience while boosting their academic and self-efficacy skills,” Jean Landis, director of La Salle Dual Enrollment Pathways, said. “Academic support, college and career-readiness workshops, community events, and peer mentoring enable the students to succeed and transition successfully to full-time college status following high school. Students and their families save time and money. In addition, students who participate in dual enrollment course work will have an increased likelihood of graduating high school and persisting through and graduating from college.”

La Salle has a variety of dual enrollment programs to support high school upperclassmen in their higher education aspirations:

Community Scholars

The Community Scholars program is specifically supported by the School District of Philadelphia. Students enroll in classes at no cost and receive free textbooks, and they can take one course in the fall and one in the spring. They attend class at La Salle on campus with other college students in courses taught by La Salle faculty.

This program is open to a select number of students within the School District of Philadelphia. In fall 2024, partner schools included: Building 21, Central High School, High School for Creative and Performing Arts, Hill-Freedman World Academy, Olney High School, and Philadelphia High School for Girls.

Diocesan Scholars

Similar to the Community Scholars, Diocesan Scholars Program students from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia also take free classes on campus at La Salle taught by faculty. La Salle welcomes high school seniors from Conwell-Egan Catholic High School, Merion Mercy Academy, Nazareth Academy High School, Roman Catholic High School, St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, and Saints Neumann Goretti High School, who may take up to two courses in fall 2024 and two courses in spring 2025.

Jason Truong, ’26, was familiar with the Diocesan Scholars Program at Roman Catholic High School as early as his freshman year before he was able to apply as a junior and take classes as a senior.

“The Diocesan Program was selective. The vice principal at my high school sat down with just the top 30 to 40 students to explain it,” he said.

Truong, who is a biology major at La Salle, said that one of the benefits of attending the program was that it allowed him to go in person to class and helped him experience what a college class was like.

“I saw that the discussion questions were at a much higher level, and the college students were treated with a different level of maturity,” he said.

Transformation Scholars

Since the interest in dual enrollment exceeds the number of seats available, La Salle offers an alternative option for students interested in getting a head start on college. The Transformation Scholars Program affords additional students attending any local high school, the opportunity to earn college credits and experience college life at a discounted tuition rate.

LEAP (La Salle’s Early Achievement Program)

In the summer of 2024, La Salle welcomed new LEAP cohorts from Abraham Lincoln, Conwell-Egan Catholic High School, and Imhotep Institute Charter High School, who will earn up to 15 college credits over four semesters. Taught by La Salle faculty, students will have both in-person and remote learning experiences. In LEAP, there is no cost for textbooks, and LEAP students and their high schools are offered a discounted tuition rate.

“I started the LEAP program after a course registration assembly in my sophomore year of high school,” Hailey Whitlock, ’28, who recently graduated from St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, said. “I wanted to challenge myself, and I thought it would be really interesting to try and take college classes. I thought that it would be a good investment for my future.”

With college credit gained while still in high school, Whitlock is now attending La Salle in the accelerated 4-year B.S./MBA in accounting major.

“I just thought it was really unique to try a program that allowed me to build those skills,” the Philadelphia resident added.

Career and Technical Education (CTE)

One of the newest initiatives with the School District of Philadelphia is through competency-based education mapping from the District to La Salle classes for credit.

“Students are accepted into this program for different areas such as graphic design, digital media, film and video production, and computer networking,” LeeAnn Cardaciotto, Ph.D., associate dean, professor, and interim director of the Professional Clinical Counseling program, said. “If they meet the knowledge- and skill-based competencies and pass industry-recognized certifications, CTE students will receive undergraduate credit for specific courses mapped to their high school experience when they matriculate into La Salle.”

In short, the students demonstrating competencies and taking certifications receive college credit and a faster path to degree attainment.

Pathways for adult learners

For the adult learner, La Salle has partnered with Philadelphia public and private schools and third-party service providers to offer associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees; training; and certificate programs.

Grow Your Own Paraprofessional Pathways Program

Through the School District of Philadelphia Paraprofessional Pathways Program, individuals have the opportunity to advance their careers toward admittance into La Salle’s teacher preparation certification program.

“Paraprofessionals work alongside certified teachers to provide classroom support. These paraprofessionals are already committed to working in the field of education, but are not certified teachers,” Laura Roy, Ph.D., chair of education and social work, said. “The idea is to engage with the more than 3,000 paraprofessionals in the School District of Philadelphia to address the teacher shortage by providing a funded pathway to certification.” Paraprofessionals commit to teaching in the School District of Philadelphia for two or more years upon completion of their certification.

The La Salle Education Department’s first two cohorts of more than 30 paraprofessionals graduated in 2023 and 2024. New cohorts at the undergraduate and graduate level began their journey in fall 2024.

De’Andre Myers, ’24, is one of those students who completed the certification program and is now a first grade teacher at Logan Elementary School in Philadelphia for the 2024-25 school year.

“It’s my passion to be an elementary school teacher,” Myers, who started working for the District in 2016 as a one-to-one special education aid and has been working with children for over 20 years, said. “Immediately after I got my bachelor’s from Eastern University, I became aware of the La Salle program, and I started thinking about the process of becoming a teacher and certification classes.”

Myers, who wants to pursue opening her own day camp one day, will be encouraging those one-on-one aids in her own classroom to attend La Salle’s program.

Early Learning Pathways Initiative: Adult Evening Pre-K-4 Program with Certification

Since 2020, the La Salle Education Department has received a grant from the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) for an early learning pathways initiative. The funding, which originate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through the Office of Child Development and Early Learning, is focused on providing a pathway to degree attainment and certification for early childhood professionals in the Philadelphia region. The program offers specialized content development that is aligned with competencies that are developmentally and culturally appropriate to meet the diverse needs of children and families in their care.

“We’ve been able to take a systems building approach to the program,” Laurel Byrne, Ed.D., associate professor of education, said. “The program is about supporting and providing greater accessibility and equitable opportunities for the early childhood workforce toward degree attainment and credit bearing coursework.”

For early childcare workers who enter the program with an associate degree, the course work helps them work toward completing their BA with PreK-4 certification.

Undergraduate Evening, Pre-K through Fourth Grade Certification

La Salle also partners with the Archdiocese Diocese of Philadelphia for a “grow your own” initiative to provide a pathway to Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) certification for Diocesan teachers. The program begins with a two-week in-person intensive summer course as a first step to receiving an undergraduate education degree with pre-K through fourth grade certification. Students can add fifth-and sixth-grade certification through exams or add middle level or special education certification by taking additional coursework. The program began in 2023, and the second cohort started in the summer of 2024.

Instructional Coach Program

For certified teachers who desire to learn more about how to be instructional leaders or teacher leaders in their schools, the four-course, hybrid Instructional Coach Program Endorsement program builds teacher leaders at the graduate level.

This program will also serve as the first four courses in a future Principal Certification program.

Associate in Education Degree

For aspiring educators who wish to begin their journey toward certification in a two-year program without fully committing to a four-year program, a new associate in education provides a seamless pathway. The School District of Philadelphia, Universal Charter, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and Woods Services Inc., a non-profit that caters to individuals with developmental disability, child welfare, behavioral and brain trauma, all have an interest in offering this option to their employees who have yet to obtain a college degree. This degree, approved by La Salle’s Board of Trustees in fall 2024, will eventually connect this pathway to the dual enrollment program for high school students.

The funnel into the associate degree program or for those looking to expand their opportunities into the Early Learning Pathways Initiative for early childhood professionals has the goal of a pathway that leads to a BA degree program.

“The idea is to create multiple entry points into the pathway to future PDE certification and teacher leadership development in education,” Roy emphasized.

“Being a part of La Salle University means participating in a community that is committed to student success,” Mosca said. “From dual enrollment opportunities for high school students to specialized programs for adult learners, we strive to make higher education accessible and relevant to the needs of our local community. Our goal is to help every student find their path and succeed both academically and personally.”

—Brian Kirschner