Building military camaraderie in classrooms p1 - Military Transition - Military Times EDGE

When Lisa White left the Air Force after serving for eight years, she found it difficult to adapt to civilian life.

“The military community is a tight-knit community and we look out for each other,” White said. “When you go back to the civilian world, it’s almost like you get thrown to the dogs. You don’t have someone necessarily watching your back.”

White decided to pursue her college degree and then recreate the spirit of camaraderie she felt in the military in a public school classroom. She enrolled in Troops to Teachers, a program that helps former and retired service members transition to careers as public school teachers.

Robert Henry, the program’s coordinator for the Washington, D.C., and Maryland region, said service members make effective educators.

“They are bringing leadership skills that have been practiced,” Henry said. “They know how to work with their peers, younger people and with seniority. They are used to working with a very diverse population.”

Funded by the Department of Education and administered by the Pentagon, Troops to Teachers has placed more than 10,000 former and retired service members in public schools across the nation.

“We help guide [veterans], counsel them and provide resources for them so that they can impart their knowledge to America’s youth,” Henry said.

White agrees. “I like to believe that I teach my kids more than math and science,” she said. “We also have to look out for each other. I always tell them that.”

Requirements to participate

To enroll in the program, veterans must:

• Be separated from active or reserve service.

• Have at least six years of continuous active or reserve service.

To be eligible for financial assistance, participants must:

• Have at least six years of continuous active service or at least 10 years in the reserves.

• Agree to serve in the reserves for three more years.

• For a stipend of up to $5,000 to help pay for teacher certification, participants must teach in a school district where the poverty rate is at least 20 percent.

• For the $10,000 bonus, participants must teach in a school that is under the free or reduced lunch program.

Post-9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act

A new bill, introduced by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in October and currently in committee, would make Troops to Teachers more accessible to service members who served on active duty on or after Sept. 11, 2001.

The bill would:

• Allow any service member who has served at least 90 days of continuous active duty since Sept. 11, 2001 to be eligible for the program.

• Reduce the active-duty service requirement to four years for those who have not served 90 days since Sept. 11, 2001.

• Extend eligibility for the $5,000 stipend to any participant who agrees to teach three years in any school within a district receiving Title I funds, as defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

• Create an advisory board that would be responsible for helping to increase participation and awareness of the program and ensure that it meets the needs of schools and veterans.