Short answer
How do Christina teachers move to a higher column on the salary schedule?
Christina teachers move columns through a Delaware graduate salary increment (GSI): an application in DEEDS, an official transcript sent by the institution, approval by the district and then by DDOE. Bachelor's-plus columns count only credits earned inside a master's program, and an application received after June 1 takes effect in the next fiscal year.
Source: 14 DE Admin. Code 728, Graduate Level Salary Increments, and Christina teacher's salary schedule, SY 2026-2027. Checked .
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How is the Christina teacher salary schedule organized?
Christina's compensation and salary page posts its 2026-2027 schedules by group, with separate teacher schedules for non-grandfathered staff and for Wilmington schools. The non-grandfathered teacher schedule is based on 7.5-hour days, inclusive of a half-hour lunch, and 188 days a year; employees who work less have their salary reduced accordingly.
The schedule has ten columns: No Degree, Bachelors, Bachelors + 15, Bachelors + 30, Masters, Masters + 15, + 30, + 45 and + 60, and Doctorate. Each lists a state amount, a local amount and the total, for steps 1 through 17 with longevity rows at steps 21 and 26. The schedule notes longevity increments beginning at pay steps 16, 21 and 26.
The Masters + 60 column is a local addition. The schedule labels it "Approved Credits Only; State Level = Master +45," so the state share stays at the Master's + 45 level while the district pays a higher local amount. The district's compensation guidelines add that Christina "operates under separate and unique collective bargaining unit agreements" with teachers and other groups. We did not find a current teachers' agreement posted on the district site when we checked. For column vocabulary, see salary lane names.
Which units count toward a Christina column change?
For the state columns, Regulation 728 decides:
- Bachelor's + 15 and + 30. Teachers "enrolled in a master's degree program at a regionally accredited college or university" may move after 15 or 30 graduate credits toward that master's. "No credits earned prior to the conferring of a bachelor's degree" count.
- Master's + 15, + 30 and + 45. Credits taken after the first master's is conferred must be graduate level and earned through "a graduate level course of study clearly related to the educator's professional responsibilities," toward a second master's, or as matriculated doctoral credit. A graduate-level course of study is "a non matriculated but focused and coherent program of study (e.g., a Certificate Program)."
- Degrees. Master's and doctoral degrees must be "directly related to an area or specialty in which the educator is employed, or as required by regulation."
- Grades and order. A B or higher, or a pass; credits are applied in the order taken, and none may be used more than once. Quarter hours convert at two-thirds.
DDOE's GSI information sheet (posted on Red Clay's site) adds that "An ad-hoc group of unrelated coursework does not qualify as a course of study," that Delaware requires a regionally accredited college or university authorized to operate in the state, and that "Professional development coursework for which an educator purchases graduate credits may not be used for GSIs." The district does not publish a separate list of what it counts toward its local Masters + 60 column, so ask HR before you plan coursework for it. Our article on graduate-level credit and degree credit explains why the label on a transcript is not the whole test.
Does Christina require approval before you take a course?
Regulation 728 does not require approval before a course, but DDOE's information sheet says pre-approval "is strongly recommended if there is a question about a degree, course of study, or IHE." The state's Graduate Level Salary Increments Approval Form is completed by the educator and the HR department and sent to DDOE Licensure and Certification, which asks for up to four weeks. The form says credits "must be directly related to an area or specialty in which the educator is employed" and that "Professional Development coursework is not acceptable." Its HR section carries the line "This acknowledgment does not constitute approval by the DDOE."
The information sheet lists "red flags" to check first, including coursework delivered by a separate entity rather than the university, and a provider that sells the same course with and without credit at different prices. Our guide to vetting a credit provider walks through the same questions.
When are transcripts due, and when does the new column take effect?
You apply once the credits are complete. Under Regulation 728, the application goes in through DEEDS, official transcripts go from the institution to the employer's HR office "unopened and unaltered," and the district approves or denies it before sending it to DDOE. An application for the current fiscal year "must be received in the Department no later than June 1"; later applications are approved effective the first day of the next fiscal year.
The raise is retroactive "to the first of the month following the date certified by transcript or official grade slip as to when the program or credit was completed," but never into a prior fiscal year. Filing in May for credits finished in February therefore pays from March 1; filing the same credits in July pays from July 1. See transcript deadlines for more on why filing dates matter.
Do the same units count toward Delaware license renewal?
Renewal uses a separate test. Under Regulation 1511, a Delaware continuing license renews with 90 clock hours of professional development or professional learning during the license term. A college course counts at 15 clock hours per semester hour, but the regulation says "the course shall be completed within a matriculated masters program, doctoral program or a graduate level course of study," unless it is an undergraduate course for new knowledge and skills related to the educator's position, with a grade of B or better. Other listed activities, such as a planned professional development activity or program, count by verified clock hours. The Delaware renewal section of our Delaware guide has the details.
Where can Christina teachers earn graduate-level units?
Every district, Christina included, decides for itself whether a course counts for the purpose a teacher needs it for: a column move, a stipend, license renewal or an added endorsement. No provider, university or website can make that decision, so the rules above come first, and written approval from Christina's human resources office is the safest record to have before you pay.
At Christina, column moves on the state schedule are Delaware graduate salary increments approved by the Department of Education. A teacher with a bachelor's degree moves only on graduate credits earned inside a master's program; a teacher with a master's moves on credits from a graduate-level course of study, a second master's or doctoral study (see units that count). Stand-alone courses do not qualify on their own. Delaware renewal also limits the college-course credit it counts toward its 90 clock hours; see the renewal section.
Christina's column moves are approved by the Delaware Department of Education, whose salary increment approval form states that "Professional Development coursework is not acceptable," and whose information sheet says "Professional development coursework for which an educator purchases graduate credits may not be used for GSIs." Many continuing-education courses for teachers are sold as exactly that kind of credit, so check any course against both documents, and use the state pre-approval form, before you enroll.
Because Christina screens courses and providers under its own rules, this page does not point to any one provider. Check a course against those rules and get written approval before you pay for it. Published prices for 16 providers are on Compare; check each one against Christina's rules.
Christina salary questions teachers ask
What is the Masters + 60 column at Christina?
A local column above the state's Master's + 45. Christina's 2026-2027 schedule labels it "Approved Credits Only; State Level = Master +45," so the state share stays at Master's + 45 and the district adds the difference.
Who approves a column change at Christina?
The district reviews the DEEDS application first, and the Delaware Department of Education makes the final decision under Regulation 728.
When is the Christina graduate salary increment deadline?
DDOE must receive the application by June 1 for the current fiscal year. Later applications take effect from July 1.
How many days does the Christina teacher schedule cover?
188 days of 7.5 hours, inclusive of a half-hour lunch. Employees who work less have their salary reduced accordingly.
Sources
- Compensation and salary, Christina School District. Checked
- Teacher's salary schedule, non-grandfathered, SY 2026-2027, Christina School District. Checked
- Compensation laws and agreements, Christina School District. Checked
- 14 DE Admin. Code 728, Graduate Level Salary Increments, State of Delaware. Checked
- Graduate Level Salary Increments Approval Form (updated February 8, 2023), Delaware Department of Education. Checked
- Graduate Level Salary Increment Information, Delaware Department of Education (posted by Red Clay Consolidated School District). Checked
- 14 DE Admin. Code 1511, Continuing License, State of Delaware. Checked
Reviewed November 12, 2026 by TeacherPayGuide editors.Report an error