Ex-soldiers training to become teachers Former troops well-received in education

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BANGOR – David Burks spent 25 years in the U.S. Navy operating tactical and strategic computers and telecommunications equipment. Now he’s “knee deep in kids,” teaching second-graders at the Cave Hill School in Eastbrook how to read and write.

The two professions may appear to have little in common, but for Burks, 48, the experience and skills he gained in the military prepared him well for his second career as a teacher.

People in the military have lived around the world, “so they have a lot of life experience, which really helps in working with kids,” he said recently. They also understand how bureaucracies function and the meaning of teamwork.

Burks’ transition into teaching was eased by Troops to Teachers, a U.S. Department of Defense program that helps retired military personnel become public school teachers.

Eligible individuals who have bachelor’s degrees and are retired from the military may receive up to $5,000 to help pay for teacher certification costs or bonuses of $10,000 to teach at least three years in schools serving a high percentage of students from low-income families.

Administered by the University of Maine System, the Troops to Teachers program receives approximately $200,000 each year through the No Child Left Behind Act. A new connection with the state Department of Education enables some of the money to pay for a certification specialist to work exclusively with former military personnel who want to become teachers.

Education Commissioner Susan Gendron promoted the relationship in a recent letter to superintendents. “Under this agreement the Maine Department of Education, with the assistance of the New England Troops to Teachers Office, will facilitate the certification of Troops to Teachers participants as teachers in Maine public schools and assist in the marketing of the Troops to Teachers program to the Maine education communities,” she wrote.

The program offers another way to recruit teachers, she said during an interview. “These folks are passionate about becoming teachers.”

Department of Education certification specialist Gary Barrett said the new relationship allows him to process Troops to Teachers applications more quickly. “Instead of … four to eight weeks, [applications] are getting turned over within a day or a couple of days after being received,” said Barrett, who offers counseling and assistance with certification requirements.

He also reviews transcripts and explains what courses people need to become teachers and where those classes are offered, provides job referral assistance, and confers with superintendents.

Military personnel make good teachers, according to Troops to Teachers officials. “In the military you’re always teaching, always instructing, always making sure people underneath you are properly trained to do their jobs,” said Ken McCann, New England coordinator of the program.

Nationwide, 75 percent of Troops to Teachers participants still are teaching five years after entering the field, compared to 50 percent of teachers who began their careers directly out of college, McCann said.

School districts are “quite pleased” with those they hire from the program, said Don Sweeney, New England Troops to Teachers director. “They generally come with a world of experience and lots of maturity. They are hard workers who know how to show up on time and be ready to work.”

Lloyd Chaison of Millinocket, who served in the U.S. Army from 1984 to 1986 and is now a member of the Maine Army National Guard, said his time in the service “taught me about people, about understanding different personalities.”

A building trades-technology teacher at Stearns High School in Millinocket, Chaison, 40, is a mentor for Troops to Teachers, answering e-mail and calls from people who have roots in Maine and want to move back and get a job in the classroom.

“If someone has a particular question, I can help them out. I have no problem letting them know what life is like here. And I have only positive things to say about Troops to Teachers,” he said.

Created in 1994, Troops to Teachers provides financial incentives to eligible individuals who have retired from the military after at least 20 years in the service, been on active duty for six years and agreed to at least three years of National Guard or Reserves duty, or served at least 10 years in the National Guard or Reserves.

Funding for the program was lost in 1996 but was restored five years later through the No Child Left Behind Act because of a projected shortfall of 2million to 3 million teachers within the next 10 years.

All told, 40 Maine residents have gone through the program, according to Sweeney.

“The numbers aren’t huge, but we’re making progress,” he said.

Officials noted that the war in Iraq has decreased the number of retired military personnel. But the program should get a boost from new teacher certification rules taking effect in August that will allow would-be teachers to demonstrate competency through their military experience.

“The climate at Cave Hill is much like you would find in the military living overseas. You depend on each other and you take care of each other,” said Burks, an Ellsworth resident.

Because his duties in the military included advising sailors about career and educational options when they left the military, Burks often discussed the benefits of Troops to Teachers. He ended up taking his own advice and contacted the program before his retirement in 2001.

Since many military officers have degrees in math, science and engineering, “they are subject experts already” and simply need to take the methods courses that help them learn how to teach, he said.

Elsa Nunez, vice chancellor for the University of Maine System, said military retirees often see teaching as a way to continue serving their country.

“They have given to their country in one way and come back motivated and want to continue to give back,” she said.

Terry Atwood, assistant principal at Winslow High School, retired in 1995 from a 20-year stint in the U.S. Air Force. “Teaching has been a great second career for me,” said the 48-year-old Bucksport native, whose 11 years in education includes teaching and administrative experience at schools in Limestone, Fort Fairfield, Machias and Hodgdon.

“Troops to Teachers made it all possible,” he said.

More information on the New England Troops to Teachers Program is available at www.nnettt.org or by calling (888) 463-6488.