TROOPS TO TEACHERS PROGRAM
Abstract
The original intent of the Troops to Teachers program was to assist eligible members of the Armed Forces to obtain certification or licensing and transition into K-12 teaching careers as highly qualified teachers (https://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg27.html#sec2301). Between 2011 and 2016, five hundred and six service members or veterans have been hired as teachers in North Carolina through the program as first time teacher hires. As the program transitions to a grant model, North Carolina proposes to increase the pool of veterans signed up for TTT by 400 as new registrations with the national office. The state proposes to increase the employment of such prospective teachers from the registered pool of program participants to a count of 40+ annually. The goals of recruiting new participants and getting participants hired will be accomplished through: outreach at the military installations in the state and in geographic pockets of heavy veteran concentration, webinars, direct counseling by phone and email on path options and eligibility for teaching employment, “job sweep” service on request to assist eligible participants in finding employment in North Carolina, assistance by critique of draft self-promotion documents such as resumes and cover letters, coaching on approaching schools for employment and for the K-12 employment interview and where appropriate referral letters for participants for use in securing interviews. The NC Troops to Teachers team will be composed of: Doug Taggart as program coordinator and Henry Moore as program assistant. The team will provide outreach, counseling and administration services for the grant. The team will be based out of the education building in Raleigh, North Carolina. Oversight will be provided by Dr. Lynne Johnson, director of Educator Effectiveness. During the grant period, “Teaching as a Second Career” seminars will be provided bi-monthly to Fort Bragg (Fayetteville) and Camp Lejeune (Jacksonville) in partnership with base education at each installation. Fort Bragg’s retirement office is receptive to monthly briefings for the pre-retiree community. Additionally, each of the remaining major installations will receive seminars count indicated including: Seymour-Johnson AFB x 2 (Goldsboro), MCAS Cherry Point x 1 (Havelock), and Elizabeth City Coast Guard Base x 1. Additionally, participation in education fairs and job fairs will be examined at each installation based on likely production potential for educating service members about the program. Innovation involving barriers that exist for veterans becoming teachers will be focused for this grant period on inclusion of prevalent military branch instructor programs within the multi-year military experience credit review project ongoing with the University of North Carolina – General Administration office. The innovation goal being to determine which military instructor programs may have relevance or component equivalency to K-12 education programs and to recommend modifications or allowances to teacher education programs based on that analysis. Continuation/modifying of the volunteer mentor program will be a priority as shadowing experiences offered by the mentors are valuable in participant determination of teaching as an appropriate career goal.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 19, 2017
- Source ID
- N002441710026
Entities
People
- Douglas Taggart
Organizations
- United States Navy