Troops to Teachers Puts War Veterans to Work

Troops to Teachers Lets Veterans Continue to Serve Their Country

By K. Morgan Barker 

After serving their tour of duty, many veterans find themselves at loose ends, or unsure of the next step for them in the transition from Military to Civilian careers and there has long been a history of shortages of teachers in the U.S. public school districts. This has especially been a problem for school districs in high-poverty areas.

Troops to Teachers fills the gap: Many veterans returning from war need jobs, and many schools need teachers. Thanks to the Troops to Teachers program that is being offered to war veterans to give them the chance to continue to serve their country, eligible veterans have the chance to teach in school districts throughout America. Troops-to-Teachers provides Referral Assistance and Placement services to military personnel interested in beginning a second career in public education as a teacher.

Particularly for war veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, Troops to Teachers has given them the opportunity to start winning hearts and minds here at home, on the frontlines in our schools, while investing in America’s future…

The program was established by the Department of Defense in 1994 to help improve public school education by providing funds to recruit, prepare, and support former members of the military services as teachers in high-poverty schools. In the programs 14 year-presence it has placed more than 10,000 troops in America’s classrooms..

Under this program, the Secretary of Education transfers funds to the Department of Defense for the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) to provide assistance, including stipends of up to $5,000, to eligible members of the armed forces so that they can obtain certification or licensing as elementary school teachers, secondary school teachers, or vocational/technical teachers and become highly qualified teachers by demonstrating competency in each of the subjects they teach.

In addition, the program helps these individuals find employment in high-need local educational agencies (LEA’s) or charter schools. A "high need LEA" is defined as an LEA that has a poverty rate of at least 20 percent or at least 10,000 poor children and has a high percentage of teachers teaching out of field or with emergency credentials. In lieu of the $5,000 stipends, DANTES may pay $10,000 bonuses to participants who agree to teach in high-poverty schools. A "high-poverty school" is defined as a school where at least 50 percent of the students are from low-income families or the school has a large percentage of student who qualify for assistance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Members of the armed forces who wish to receive the program’s assistance for placement as an elementary or secondary school teacher must have a baccalaureate or advance degree, and their last period of service in the armed forces must have been honorable. In selecting members of the armed forces to participate in the program, the Department of Defense must give priority to those members who have educational or military experience in science, mathematics, special education, or vocational/technical subjects and who agree to seek employment as teachers in a subject area compatible with their backgrounds.

Congress passed the Education Appropriations Bill, part of H.R. 3061, which provides $18M for financial assistance and to maintain the network of Troops to Teachers state offices. Pending availability of funds, financial assistance may be provided to eligible individuals as stipends up to $5K to help pay for teacher certification costs or as bonuses of $10K. Stipend and bonus recipients must agree to teach for three years in school locations that meet certain Department of Education criteria. The maximum amount of assistance is $10K per person.

Specific requirements:

1. Stipends of up to $5K are available to reimburse costs associated with becoming certified to teach. Recipients of these stipends must agree to teach for three years in a school located in a "high-need" district.
2. Bonuses of $10K are available to those who agree to teach for three years in a school that serves a high percentage of students from low-income families.

TTT continues to pursue the goal of helping to relieve teacher shortages, especially in math, science, special education and other high needs subject areas, and to assist military personnel in making successful transitions to second careers in teaching.

The Program Overview provides basic Troops to Teachers information and links to application procedures. The Eligibility Criteria provide information on categories of individuals eligible for financial assistance. The most significant changes to the eligibility criteria is extending financial assistance to those within one year of retirement, and to and members of the Guard or Reserve with at least 10 years of service who agree to an additional three years of reserve service. See the above link to the Eligibility Criteria for other active duty and reserve component eligibility categories. Troops to Teachers will provide Referral and Placement Assistance Services for those who have at least six years of active duty service on or after October 1, 1990, and reserve component members who have six years of service, but do not meet eligibility for financial assistance. These services include a network of State Placement Assistance Offices that provide information regarding certification requirements, programs leading to certification and assistance in identifying teaching positions. An Internet Teacher Job Referral service has been established that enables school district administrators to search the Troops to Teachers database for potential teacher candidates. Individuals may use this site to search for job vacancies and post a mini-resume to highlight their background and experiences. The Job Referral site is at: http://www.jobs2teach.doded.mil.

Who May Apply: (specifically) Former members of the U.S. Armed Forces, including members of the Armed Forces Reserves may apply. Applicants must apply to the Defense Activities for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) for assistance. Applicants aspiring to be an elementary or secondary school teacher must have a baccalaureate or advanced degree and:

Have retired from active duty;
Will retire within one year of application;
Have been transferred to the ready reserve;
Have been released from active duty after six or more years of active duty immediately before separation;
Have completed at least 10 years of active duty;
Have executed a reserve commitment agreement for not less than three years;
Have been retired or separated due to physical disability;
Have been involuntarily discharged or released from active duty due to a reduction in force between Oct. 1, 1990 and Sept. 30, 1999; or
Have applied and qualified under the previous Troops-to-Teachers program statute (10 U.S.C. 1151). 

Click here if you would like to post your resume or peruse listed jobs

Click here to view Troops to Teachers Official site on the web