Continuing to Serve
Dantes’ Troops To Teachers and DoD’s Spouses To Teachers
Programs Assist Servicemembers and Their Spouses
In Transitioning From Warfighters To Educators.
by Marty Kauchak, MAE Correspondent
For service men and women seeking a challenging, rewarding career after they hang up their uniforms for the last time, they should look no further than teaching. One path into the profession is through the Department of Defense for Non Traditional Education Support’s (DANTES) program Troops to Teachers (TTT) program (www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/troopstpteachers/index.asp).
Reflecting the focus of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, TTT helps recruit quality teachers for schools that serve students from low-income families throughout the nation. TTT is making a difference by helping to relieve teacher shortages, especially in math, science, special education and other critical subject areas, and assisting military personnel in making successful transitions to second careers in teaching.
“I REALLY LIKE TROOPS TO TEACHERS”
While the U.S. Department of Education has oversight and funding responsibilities for TTT, DoD and its DANTES activity have the day-to-day management responsibilities for the program. Within the office of the secretary of defense, TTT is in the policy portfolio of the under secretary of defense, personnel and readiness (USD (P&R)).
The two departments help deliver a teaching resource sought by school districts throughout the U.S. with schools that serve the program’s student cohort. Not only do military members have many attributes needed by a successful teacher, but the former servicemembers have higher retention figures after their initial three years in the classroom.
School administrators see a mature adult (generally between 45-to-55 years old) from the TTT program. The newly minted teachers bring a proven work ethic and other marketable competencies developed in the military to their new profession. “They don’t have to learn how to work,” emphasized Bill McAleer, chief, TTT. And he added, the military veterans “know about the responsibilities of being there on time and other requirements. Those are one of the comments principals will tell me on occasion, ‘I really like Troops to Teachers, and one of many reasons is because they are there every day and on time—they are reliable!’”
U.S. school districts experience a general attrition rate of about 55 percent for teachers after their first three years on the job. “In our case we have about a 78-to-80-percent return rate after three years,” remarked McAleer. Teacher turnover in terms of replacement costs is an important resource factor for states—it may cost a state $10s of millions annually to replace teachers who retire, quit and leave for other reasons.
TTT is fully funded until fiscal year 2010, when the No Child Left Behind legislation expires.
GETTING STARTED
Retirement or separation from military service is a major event in a service man or woman’s life. Reaching this milestone leads to decisions regarding new employment, relocation, and other family and quality-of-life issues. The TTT office provides four questions and insights that individuals leaving the military and who are even remotely interested in teaching should answer before they make substantial investments of time, money and other resources in a teaching career.
Am I going to teach where I live, or am I going to live where I teach? TTT can provide known and projected employment opportunities for states and even specific school districts, many of which are in close proximity to DoD facilities.
Why should I teach? While teaching does not provide comparable pay and benefits to other public or private sector jobs, the occupation allows individuals to contribute to their nation and community and be rewarded in a manner similar to when they were on active duty.
Can I teach? Airmen, marines, sailors, soldiers and coastguardsmen make good teachers because of their maturity and skills sets. Leadership, management, training, working on teams and other competencies developed by service men and women are the attributes of a successful teacher. “Leadership is what a teacher has to display in the classroom,” pointed out McAleer. “He or she draws the students along with them. The teacher inspires them, motivates them—they do the same thing with their students as they did with their soldiers.”
How do I become a teacher? The efforts of the TTT national program office in Pensacola, Fla., are complemented by personnel in a network of regional and state offices (http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/library/docs/ttt/state_office_listing.pdf) to support the servicemember who wants to teach. “Their function is to brief the soldiers and spouses and those who might be interested in Troops to Teachers on the program and encourage them to register,” pointed out McAleer. While many of the TTT inquiries are responded to over the phone or via e-mail, the regional and state TTT offices provide the greatest opportunity for personal contact and counseling. Additional insights into the role and missions of one state office (Louisiana) are provided below.
Service men and women who have an interest in teaching need to be aware that TTT does not train, certify or hire teachers. Rather, TTT provides extensive services to find programs that may help accomplish these goals. “We are the place that can tell them where the jobs are, we help them with their interview process, we help them with resumes, financial assistance with bonuses available for selected schools,” said McAleer. TTT also provides a mentoring program that coaches prospective students through the hiring and certification process.
A comprehensive list of milestones that must be completed by a prospective teacher may be reviewed at http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/troopstoteachers/TTTStepByStep.asp.
TTT’s headquarters in Pensacola may be contacted by phone (850) 452-1111, toll free (1-800-231-6242) or e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
CAREER OPTIONS FOR SPOUSES
A companion program to TTT, DoD Worldwide Spouses to Teachers (STT), http://www.spousestoteachers.com/ assists spouses of active duty and selected reserve and National Guard members become school teachers. The program is also managed by DANTES and is in the policy portfolio of the USD (P&R). STT is hosted in regional and state TTT offices. The startup of the STT pilot program in 2004 was another commitment by congress and DoD to bolster military families’ quality of life during the global war on terror. “Quality of life matters significantly affect servicemembers’ decisions to remain in the military,” Tylee Roller, director, STT, told MAE. She also noted that for some members, the ability of a spouse to supplement family income with a professional salary comparable to that enjoyed by two-income families in the private sector is a key factor is deciding whether or not to remain in the military.
Teaching is a perfect enhancement for military quality of life as it is a professional career area of interest to military spouses. “Teaching is a highly portable profession with employment opportunities nationwide. The key to becoming a teacher is obtaining teaching credentials accepted by the states in which military families are likely to be stationed,” said Roller.
To help spouses meet the credentialing milestone, funding, up to $600, is available as a reimbursement to assist spouses for examinations required to qualify for state certification, Passport to Teaching (www.abcte.org) and the Graduate Record Examination if the program leads to a teaching certification or license.
The participation level of spouses of reservists and guardsmen has remained at a steady 7 percent due to their stability in their community with careers already established. And in an effort to reach the entire DoD community STT has expanded to include spouses residing nationwide, in Europe and the Pacific.
Roller pointed out the value of contacting STT counselors in TTT offices. “The counselors have proven to be particularly effective in providing assistance to spouses regarding the process of transferring their teacher certification from one state to another. This is a process that can often take months to accomplish; with the knowledge and contacts of our Spouses to Teachers state managers, this process can be accomplished in days or weeks rather than months.” This support enables spouses to acquire their new teacher certification and be ready to compete for teaching positions in school districts located in their new duty station.
Additional information about STT certification and licensure issues is available at: http://www.spousestoteachers.com/mainmenu/certificationlicensure.html. STT’s headquarters office in Pensacola may be contacted by phone (850) 452-1111, toll free (1-800-231-6242), or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
ONE DEGREE-EARNING OPTION
Prospective TTT and STT students need to consider their personal and professional schedules when deciding how they will complete the required academic, certification and other steps necessary to gain their initial teaching position.
DANTES has identified 32 institutions that offer K-12, teacher certification programs through distance learning (DL). This option is in addition to in-residence instruction programs available nationwide. Links, point-of-contact information and brief descriptions for the DL programs identified by the office appear in the DANTES External Degree Catalog (http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/troopstoteachers/Teacher_Cert_DL_Schools.asp). An easy-to-use matrix which allows the prospective student to compare and contrast attributes of the 32 programs is available at http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/ library/docs /TTT/ DL_Cert_Matrix.pdf. Four representative institutions on the list are Saint Joseph’s College (Maine), University of Phoenix, University of Texas-Arlington (UTA) and University of West Florida.
Nancy Hadaway, professor, literacy studies, UTA, provided one institution’s perspectives on a program facilitated through DL. “Our secondary certification is the only initial teacher certification program at UTA that is part of the Troops/Spouses to Teachers. This program is graduate level and online/distance education for the pedagogy portion.” Fifteen hours of pedagogy are required including the following courses: EDUC (education) 5310, Diversity, EDUC 5314, Secondary Instructional Methods, EDUC 5329, Classroom Management, EDUC 5315 Practicum (12 week, fulltime student teaching).
In addition, UTA has an advanced certification program for reading specialist and English as a second language. “These are add-on certificates to the initial teaching certificate and several military spouses have come through this program, including one in Virginia, and other locations. Again, this is a fully online program. This is a Masters in Education in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in literacy with 36 semester credit hours,” she added.
McAleer offered additional advice when selecting an academic program. “The aspiring TTT and STT student should ask the institution or college this question: Will this program of study, degree, or course work get me the certification or license to teach at the grade level I want in the state where I want to teach? If the answer is not an absolute ‘yes’ back away and find a institution that will bring you to a certification or license to teach at the grade level you wish in the state where you wish to teach.”
TTT’s FOCAL POINT IN THE FIELD
The regional and state TTT offices are on the front lines in educating, informing, and assisting service men and women. Adrian “Al” Almodovar, Jr., state director, Louisiana TTT, modestly said that his office’s mission is to recruit, counsel, guide, offer placement assistance and make the transition as smooth as possible. In reality, this one office has about 1,500 contacts annually from the Pelican State’s military facilities at New Orleans Naval Support Activity, Coast Guard Integrated Support Command, Fort Polk, Barksdale Air Force Base, Camp Beauregard and the Louisiana National Guard. The director and Diana Wilson, office assistant, attend job fairs, conduct pre-separation and pre-retirement briefings and teaching as a second career seminars, and have other outreach strategies to reach the in-state military audience.
“We want the candidates to succeed and offer our help at any point during and after their transition to teaching. We maintain a good working relationship with Louisiana’s Department of Education, Bureau of Certification, school districts, and stakeholders who are working toward erasing the shortage of highly-qualified teachers in Louisiana’s classrooms,” said Almodovar.
Communication with the interested TTT candidate begins with an overall briefing and written documentation of Louisiana’s teacher requirements, pre-professional skills testing (PRAXIS), alternative certification programs and providers. “Then, degree(s), military and civilian experience and the grade level and subject area they want to teach and geographic area the candidate wants to reside are discussed,” added Wilson.
Louisiana’s regional certification counselors assist with reviewing candidates’ credentials and action plan toward obtaining a teaching certificate. The resources and assistance available at DANTES national office and the TTT state and regional offices are invaluable—as each state has its bureaucratic hurdles to cross over to achieve certification and receive a job.
Louisiana’s alternate teaching preparation programs (for certification as a teacher for non-education graduates) were developed to address the state’s shortage of teachers. Candidates must have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree for entry into an alternate teaching program. Three types of alternate teaching preparation programs allow professionals and recent college graduates to pursue a career in teaching, explained Almodovar and Wilson. “The Practitioner Teacher Program is a streamlined certification path that combines intensive coursework and full-time teaching. The Masters Degree Program is an intensive path that results in a master’s degree as well as certification. And the Non-Masters/Certification-Only Program is for individuals not wishing to participate full-time or pursue a master’s degree through one of the other alternate paths to certification.”
This one state strategy for initial teacher certification can be compared to UTA’s program supporting Texas. The student must have an appropriate content background (at least 24 undergraduate hours in the chosen teaching field). “If the student does not have that background, he or she will need to take undergraduate content hours in addition to the pedagogy sequence. Also, there is a requirement for a practice content and practice pedagogy test prior to taking the state certification exams. Both the practice test and the actual TExES (state certification exams) can be sent to a proctored testing site near the student,” concluded UTA’s Hadaway.
“I WOULDN'T TRADE IT FOR THE WORLD.”
Army veteran Edward Detommaso transitioned from his last active duty assignment at Fort Polk and is a high school and junior high math teacher and coach of different sports. The Leesville, La., resident reflected that “I work now as a teacher more than I did when I was in the military but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” Detommaso attributed his successes in gaining employment as a teacher to TTT staff members. “I couldn’t have done it without them.” He recalled that program personnel helped him construct a roadmap to achieve his goals and provided other support. Similarly, he encouraged service men and women who are considering teaching to establish an active dialogue with a TTT office. “They have a lot of information they can give you. They have a roadmap they can give you on where you need to go and how you need to get there,” emphasized Detommaso. ♦