From Military Unit to the Classroom
Written by Marty Kauchak
Service men and women have many attributes required to be an effective teacher. The leadership skills, personal discipline, subject matter expertise and other character traits gained by an airman, marine, sailor and soldier over the course of a career help a teacher succeed in the challenging 21st-century learning environment.
Retired or soon-to-be retired active and Reserve component members and other servicemembers who are contemplating a second career, and have an interest in the noble calling to help educate the next generation of Americans, may achieve their goals through the Troops to Teachers (TTT) program.
REFERENCE POINTS
TTT was authorized by Congress in 1993. Since 1994 the program has been managed by the Defense Activity for Non- Traditional Education Support (DANTES). The U.S. Department of Education presently has policy oversight and funding responsibility for TTT.
The program provides referral assistance and placement services to military personnel interested in pursuing careers as public education teachers in grades kindergarten through 12. TTT was also codified in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
While the program is envisioned to relieve teacher shortages primarily in math, science and special education, TTT can be a path to teach other subjects ranging from foreign languages to journalism to English.
The need for teachers nationwide may influence eligible service members who are eyeing stability after they hang up their uniform for the final time. One area experiencing a dearth of teachers is the Clark County, Nev., School District, which includes Las Vegas. The district is partnering with TTT to recruit 2,500 qualified teachers.
A state-by-state teaching vacancy list may be found at www.dantes.doded.mil/ DANTES_WEB/troopstoteachers/State- TeachingVacancies.asp.
Another aspect of the program should calm anxieties about having financial stability during the transition period to a new career. Financial assistance is provided to TTT students in the form of a stipend of up to $5,000 to cover actual expenses of becoming certified. Bonus awards up to $10,000 are also provided if the applicant teaches in a high-needs school. The combined total of the stipend and the bonus may not exceed $10,000. Participants who accept the stipend or bonus must agree to teach for three years in schools that serve students from low-income families in accordance with the authorizing legislation. And universities frequently offer other financial incentives as outlined later.
WANTED: FORMER SERVICE MEMBERS
There are a number of characteristics that military members share that make them sought-after candidates for teaching, observed Bob Leonard, program assistant for Colorado, Regional Director’s office.
Adaptability and flexibility were two traits on the top of his list. Communication skills are also very important, pointed out Leonard. “Military members learn how to communicate throughout their chain-of-command during their careers. And this is needed in the classroom when teachers must communicate with their principals, their co-teachers, students and parents, and with the public at large,” he added.
Leonard also noted that leadership skills developed on active duty are applicable in the classroom. “Leading in the classroom is much like leading in a platoon or other military unit. You are trying to motivate the students to accomplish a goal, and then give them the tools to accomplish that goal,” he said.
ROLES OF PROGRAM OFFICES
The day-to-day program implementation for many federally funded programs is found at state and lower levels of government. TTT is no exception.
The majority of the states have TTT Placement Assistance Offices which guide program participants through the emotional step of starting a new career. Several offices serve as regional centers for multiple states. One regional office is the Colorado office, which also serves Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. This summer the regional office will gain oversight over its seventh state—Arizona.
At the end of the day, it is the regional and state offices that are the glue that holds the TTT program together.
“Recruiting, counseling, guidance and advisement of the applicants, promotion and marketing of the program, and placement assistance to TTT applicants,” are several of the responsibilities of the Colorado regional office, pointed out Joe Morgan, regional director.
While this and other offices can help a candidate receive financial assistance, “there are services we provide which are the most valuable part of the program,” emphasized Meghan Diderrich, director, Hire-in-Advance section, Colorado regional office. “Being here to walk a candidate through the licensing process step-by-step is invaluable,” she added.
Some of the hands-on assistance provided in these offices that help candidates weave their way through the hiring and placement bureaucracy includes completing resumes and employment forms, and preparing for a job interview. These services are especially valuable since requirements to teach mathematics or another subject may vary state-by-state.
By all accounts the proactive outreach efforts of the regional and state offices are producing positive results.
“Since 2001, we have been able to hire between 130 to 150 new teachers each year,” calculated Morgan. This is but one metric of his office’s success, as it also places other individuals in the recentlylaunched Spouses to Teachers program, which is described later.
State and regional offices can be accessed by clicking on “Troops to Teachers State Offices” at www.dantes.doded.mil/ dantes_web/troopstoteachers/index.asp. Another key TTT stakeholder with which these offices interface is the degree and certificate-awarding institutions.
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS
A variety of colleges and universities offer kindergarten-through-12th grade teacher degree and certification programs through in-residence programs or distributed learning.
One institution of note is Western Governors University (WGU). The university is a private, non-profit online institution. The university offers on-line courses leading to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in teacher education, and a post-baccalaureate teacher’s preparation program, “which is particularly important in the Troops to Teachers program,” pointed out Ken Sorber, vice president, Strategic Relations. The post-baccalaureate teaching certificate allows a person who has a bachelor’s degree and who is eligible for the TTT program to earn a teacher’s license without having to obtain the bachelor’s or master’s degree.
Average reported completion times for these TTT-enabling programs were 24 to 30 months for a bachelor’s, 18 to 24 months for a post-baccalaureate certificate and 18 to 30 months for the master’s.
While the three programs provide the convenience of completing a course on a 24/7 basis—anytime, anywhere—they also are built on challenging academic requirements. “It is a very rigorous program,” asserted Sorber. He continued, “Some people have an idea that on-line education is easy, that you don’t have to work very hard. There may be examples of schools out there that are like that, but WGU isn’t one.”
WGU’s academic standards allowed it to earn accreditation from four regional accrediting organizations, the Distance Education and Training Council and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
Aspiring students who are looking to complete any online program should be aware of the investment of time they must commit. It is estimated that a successful WGU student spends about 15 hours a week to complete a program of instruction.
WGU provides $1,500 supplemental scholarships for TTT participants as well as to the spouses of active military. The spousal scholarships are independent of the Spouses to Teachers program and can be used to supplement that program’s stipend. “The way that breaks down is that is given to them as a $300 tuition credit each six-month term, and it is renewable for up to five terms,” said Sorber.
A second institution that provides incentives to TTT participants is Jones International University. The university’s online program offerings include Master of Education degrees for licensed educators and leading to education licensure.
The institution offers a 20 percent tuition scholarship to active, retired and reserve personnel and their dependents whose application packages are processed prior to December 31, 2007.
The prospective TTT participant will find other academic programs to help them gain certification and licensure. University of the Cumberlands offers two different programs for people wishing to become school teachers. The Alternative Certification Program is a thirty-hour program that provides certification in LBD (Learning Disabilities–Behavior Disorders). The university also offers a Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) degree in elementary, middle and most secondary areas along with many primary-through-12 areas including special education, art, physical education and other programs. The MAT is an alternate-route program designed for TTT enrollees and other individuals with non-education degrees who want to become teachers. It leads to a master’s degree in teaching and Kentucky licensure. The master’s program may be completed either on-line or in residence. Tempe, Ariz-based Rio Salado College (RSC) offers a number of on-line and resident programs that support TTT participants and caught MAE’s attention.
In one program of note, Rio Salado College has established educational partnerships with Northcentral University, Plymouth State University and Walden University to earn master’s degrees at those institutions. These educational partners are regionally accredited institutions of higher learning. Information about other teacher certification programs and other TTT matters may be found at http://ProudToServeAgain.Com, at phone number 850-452-1241 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE CANDIDATES
TTT administrators encourage prospective candidates to apply for a teaching position and complete the required certification process well before the last day of active duty service. “The military member or the spouse who is interested in teaching should contact our [or another state’s] office as soon as possible,” said Diderrich. “The biggest problems that we see are when the servicemember waits until he or she is on terminal leave to contact our office. Most of the time they don’t have the ideal time frame that we would like,” she said.
Asked to specify an ideal initial contact time, Diderrich responded: “About two years.”
She qualified her answer by noting that Clark County School District (Las Vegas) is one of several districts that have launched a Hire in Advance Program, which allows a qualified TTT candidate to receive a letter of intent to hire one-to-two-years from the retirement date—with the proviso that the individual is willing to complete state licensing requirements during the remaining time on active duty.
But a more fundamental requirement for some military personnel is to determine early-on whether they are genuinely interested in a teaching profession—especially if they have any doubts.
“Get out in the schools as early as possible and experience public education,” suggested Leonard. “Oftentimes when we get ready to separate from the military we come up with the idea that we want to teach. But once we investigate and do the research, some individuals find their niche really isn’t there, that their passion doesn’t lie there. And you have to be passionate as a school teacher. So go into the schools, and be a substitute teacher or work with programs in your children’s schools so that you get to better understand public education,” he urged.
This advice is relevant to spouses who are interested in the TTT’s counterpart program—Spouses to Teachers.
PROGRAM FOR SPOUSES
Spouses to Teachers is a DoD-funded pilot program designed to provide the spouses of active and Reserve component service members with information, counseling and assistance with employment searches for becoming public school teachers. “We give the spouses up to $600 for certification testing,” pointed out Wayne Rees, program assistant, Spouses to Teachers, Colorado regional office. “The program allows the spouse to become licensed, and then we are able to help transfer the license from state to state,” he added.
The program also bolsters the quality of life for the military family. Spouses to Teachers allows the spouse to more easily find employment in a high-demand profession following the service man or woman’s permanent change of station assignment. Indeed, the program is available in 14 states that have high concentrations of military personnel and a need for public school teachers.
The spouse who is interested in teaching may obtain additional information from www.spousestoteachers.com. Prospective Spouses to Teachers or TTT candidates may also glean some insights from a current TTT program member.
ONE PARTICIPANT’S PERSPECTIVES
John Clausen, a retired member of the Kentucky Army National Guard, is working to complete a bachelor’s degree certification in that state through WGU and the TTT program.
Clausen reports the TTT stipend has been “a welcome benefit,” and provided additional insights.
“In selecting an institution to complete a degree, the student must do some research on their state’s regulations, rules and standards for certification. Students must make sure their school is accredited, and they can get certified in the university’s state and then transfer that certification to their own state,” he said. ♦