DANTES Troops to Teachers Program Pennsylvania
Abstract
Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is applying for federal funds managed by the Defense Activity for Nontraditional Education Support (DANTES) to support veterans as they transition from military service. Consistent with the goal of supporting veterans who are interested in becoming classroom teachers, Pennsylvania Troops to Teachers (TTT) will implement a statewide network of multiple teacher preparation programs in partnership with Pennsylvania’s high-poverty/minority schools. The goal is to implement one or more alternative pathways to Pennsylvania certification that enables veterans, who already hold at least a bachelor’s degree, to complete critical, specially-designed courses and immediate opportunities to practice those knowledge and skills as part of the pathway to Pennsylvania teacher certification. Objectives of Pennsylvania TTT that will be implemented beginning April 18, 2017 include: 1. The development of a statewide network of multiple teacher preparation programs working in partnership with Pennsylvania’s high-poverty/minority schools; this will be accomplished through a competitive application process required to drive out funds; 2. The implementation of specially-designed alternative pathways to be implemented by teacher preparation programs in the statewide network; these alternative pathways will start with knowledge and skills that are critical and essential for any novice teacher to have (classroom management, analyzing student data and implementation of different strategies, learning multiple ways to assess student learning) and then provide immediate opportunities for the skills and knowledge to be practiced and applied in a real, highpoverty/ minority classroom setting; 3. Assist statewide network with recruitment and other successful outreach and comprehensive services1 and strategies for navigating state-specific teacher certification requirements and securing teaching employment, particularly in high-need schools and in critical-need shortage areas; target is to recruit at least 50 veterans to participate in Pennsylvania TTT alternative certification pathways; 4. Provide intensive support to veterans during their first year of teaching by matching them up with a classroom teacher who holds the same type of certification and has demonstrated abilities in helping all children learn; 5. Provide outreach and one-on-one support to veterans in addition to supports provided by the teacher preparation programs and high-poverty/minority schools; this includes “hirein- advance” agreements with participating schools and designing ; 6. Offer discounted rates for veterans to apply for Pennsylvania teacher certification; expedite processing of their certification applications; and designation of PDE staff person as point of contact when veterans have certifications questions. Despite the challenges veterans face, the hard-to-staff and other high-poverty/minority schools need a qualified, diverse teacher workforce. TTT provides a viable solution for these schools
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 25, 2017
- Source ID
- N002441710025
Entities
People
- Kim Day
Organizations
- United States Department of Defense
- United States Department of Education