JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas –
Teachers with military experience are in high demand at school districts across the country and the Troops to Teachers program is one of the best ways for these veterans to get in front of the whiteboard, according to program officials.
Troops to Teachers, which hosted a workshop at the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Military Family & Readiness Center June 24, is a Department of Defense agency that helps service members transition into teaching careers through networking opportunities, certification advising, financial aid and incentive programs.
The initiative, established in 1994, has helped more than 17,000 participants start teaching careers in public schools, according to the Troops to Teachers website, at http://troopstoteachers.net/.
Those numbers might make a career in teaching seem like a no-brainer, but some veterans still need a little convincing, said Ronald Holmes, Troops to Teachers Texas division program specialist.
“Veterans are flexible, willing to innovate and they have a sense of duty,” Holmes said. “Some might be hesitant to give this career a shot, but we know as long as they have these qualities, they are going to be in demand.”
That demand, Holmes said, has been fostered by the many success stories the program has churned out.
One local example is retired Master Sgt. Daniel Leija, Behlau Elementary teacher in San Antonio Northside Independent School District. After leaving the Air Force in 2000, he went through the program and went on to win Texas Teacher of the Year in 2011.
For Leija, the military is a “gold mine” for teaching candidates because it gives teachers the most valuable tool of all: an answer to students’ eternal question, “When am I ever going to use this?”
“We have real-world experience that actually applies to the classroom,” said Leija, who uses his medical and geo-political know-how in crafting lesson plans for his students. “When we talk social studies, I can bring in my experiences from Korea, Australia or Saudi Arabia. In math, when we are learning about ratios, I can talk about how nurses calculate medication dosages.”
Leija encouraged potential teachers to look at their practical experience with technology as a resource too.
“We’ve been working with tech that might seem boring, but most of this stuff hasn’t even hit the civilian world yet,” he said. “When I started teaching, I became my school’s ‘technology guru’ because I knew how to operate the overhead projectors that I’d been working with for years – most people outside the military haven’t even seen this stuff yet.”
Despite all the advantages that military service can lend to teaching candidates, Leija urged service members to plan ahead for their transition by being as proactive as possible about getting certified. Leija, for example, worked his way through a bachelor’s degree program at the University of the Incarnate Word while still in the military.
“I retired on a Friday and that next Monday I was standing in front of 17 kindergartners wondering what I got myself into,” he laughed.
Beyond being a resource for former military members, Troops to Teachers is also a helping hand to disadvantaged schools that fall into the federal government’s Title I category.
Leija, like many other Troops to Teachers participants, got a $5,000 grant for tuition assistance on the condition that he start his teaching career at a Title I school.
“This isn’t job placement, it’s more of a guide,” Leija advised. “School districts that have a hard time placing teachers will reach out to Troops to Teachers, and they — in turn — will help guide teachers to high-need areas.”
That sort of financial assistance can make a difference for teaching candidates, Holmes added.
Getting certified as a teacher costs at least about $4,100 and that’s not including the cost of schooling for the necessary bachelor’s degree or a corresponding master’s degree.
“Those costs can feel like they’re burying you,” Holmes said. “Financial assistance helps.”
So, for all the mental and experiential gifts veterans bring to the table, one of their most important contributions might be showing up to the table in the first place, Holmes said.
“To put it bluntly, some people don’t like to teach students from lower socio-economic backgrounds,” Holmes said. “But military members, that’s no pressure for them. They look at it as their duty; it’s a mission they have to accomplish.”
That loyalty is worth as much to a resume booster as any math, science or social attributes, Holmes continued.
“Most teachers now don’t stay at a school for longer than two years, but most Troops to Teachers participants end up staying on their campuses for longer than five years,” he said. “They are staying until the job is done.”
Service members interested in teaching after leaving the military can visit the Troops to Teachers website at http://www.troopstoteachers.net/.