This seems like a really promising investment across multiple levels, especially in that it helps to diversify the teacher candidate pool. This is something that we really need to see more of.
-Patricia
By BERNIE BECKER | NY Times
Published: December 5, 2009
WASHINGTON — In her last job in the Air Force, Tammie Langley gave prospective pilots and navigators an introduction to aeronautics. Four years later, Ms. Langley is in a different sort of classroom, teaching sixth graders in North Carolina everything from reading to math.
The settings may be radically different, but Ms. Langley said the transition from teaching 22-year-olds to teaching 11- or 12-year-olds had been fairly seamless. “Either way, you still have to kind of wipe their noses a bit and kick them in the behind every now and then,” said Ms. Langley, who is in her second year at Kannapolis Intermediate School, about 25 miles north of Charlotte.
Ms. Langley, 36, became a schoolteacher in large part because of Troops to Teachers, a federal program that, over 15 years, has helped about 12,000 former service members transition into second careers in the classroom. Now, a bipartisan group in Congress is hoping to expand the program to allow more veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to sign up, while also increasing the number of places in which they could find employment.
Not all of the veterans who enter the classroom with the help of Troops to Teachers, some of whom are up to a generation older than teachers starting right out of college, share Ms. Langley’s background in formal instruction. But the program’s supporters and participants say that military service in general provides the sort of discipline and life experiences that translate well to teaching.
“My very first sergeant said, ‘Practice doesn’t make perfect,’ ” said Moises Perez, 50, a social studies teacher in Clayton County, Ga., who spent nearly 24 years in the Army, including service in Afghanistan. “He said, ‘Perfect practice makes perfect.’ That’s what I want to teach the kids.”
C. Emily Feistritzer, president of the National Center for Education Information, said: “We’re finding that these teachers seem to be able to really manage a classroom from the start, which is the biggest problem a lot of teachers have going in. And they come in thinking all children can learn, without any sort of socioeconomic biases.”
These teachers are also a more diverse group than the general teaching population. Men have accounted for about 80 percent of the program’s participants, while 35 percent or so have been members of minorities. The program, which is run by the Defense Department but financed by the Education Department, also encourages participants to teach math, science and special education, areas in which school districts can have the toughest time filling teaching slots.
William P. McAleer, who runs Troops to Teachers, said teaching math and science was sort of a natural progression for the many veterans who worked highly technical jobs in the service. “They’ve lived this stuff,” he said. “They bring real-life experience to these subjects.”
With all that in mind, supporters on Capitol Hill are pushing to expand the program by letting more service members participate and increasing the number of districts where they can teach. Legislation introduced in the House and Senate in October would allow candidates with four years of service or three months of continuous active duty since the Sept. 11 attacks to participate. As it stands, six years of active duty is needed to sign up.
Two leading sponsors of the House bill — Representatives Tom Petri, Republican of Wisconsin, and Joe Courtney, Democrat of Connecticut — said the program, which was created while the military was downsizing, needed to be updated to account for service members returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. (The Senate version of the bill was introduced by Senators John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Michael Bennet, Democrat of Colorado.)
“We have a large number of returning vets who don’t fit the model of the original program,” Mr. Courtney said. “These are people who have a lot to offer, but just can’t right now.”
The proposed legislation would also allow participants to teach in a larger number of schools. Right now, veterans who sign up with Troops to Teachers receive a stipend of up to $5,000 to help them obtain a teaching certificate, in exchange for a three-year commitment at high-need schools. Candidates who go to schools with even higher poverty rates receive a maximum of $10,000.
With the health care debate still front and center, it is uncertain how much attention Congress will give a Troops to Teachers expansion. But the House bill has already collected roughly 75 co-sponsors, while the American Legion and the National Education Association have also endorsed expanding the program.
Back in Kannapolis, Ms. Langley is also quick to sing the program’s praises.
“Without it, I would not have been able to make it financially,” said Ms. Langley, who also flew combat missions in Afghanistan in her nine years in the service. “And a three-year commitment is nothing. My kids are some of the best on the planet.”
Showing posts with label Troops to Teachers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Troops to Teachers. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Congress takes up expansion of Troops to Teachers
By Rob Hotakainen | McClatchy Newspapers
November 7, 2009
WASHINGTON — Frank McBryde says there are plenty of parallels between serving in the U.S. military and teaching.
"You're not going to become rich, you need loyalty and you need to be dedicated to a task," said McBryde, 54.
After a 23-year career in the Navy and retiring as a senior chief operations specialist, McBryde is now teaching math to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in suburban Sacramento, Calif.
The federal government aided in his transition, giving him a $10,000 stipend because he agreed to teach in a school where at least half of the students were poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
McBryde is one of more than 12,000 service members nationwide who've participated in the program since it began in 1994.
Now Congress is considering a huge expansion: Under a pending bill, the an estimated 98 percent of U.S. schools would be eligible to hire troops-turned-teachers.
McBryde, who grew up in Los Angeles and now lives in Antelope, Calif., said he planned to work in business after his military career, but then he decided to switch gears.
"I wanted my next career to mean something," he said.
Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said the program helps schools by providing them with more highly qualified math and science teachers while giving veterans "the opportunity to serve their country again."
She's one of a handful of members of Congress promoting the legislation, along with Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, Republican Rep. Tom Petri of Wisconsin and Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut.
"Right now our country is grappling with an aging teaching workforce," Matsui said. "And we have a definite need for qualified schoolteachers, particularly those that can provide mentorship and leadership."
Petri said the Education Department in recent years has restricted the eligibility of schools far beyond what Congress ever intended. As an example, he said, only 13 of the 420 school districts in Wisconsin qualified earlier this year.
Bennet said the program needed to be expanded to attract younger troops, noting the current law requires six years of military service for eligibility.
"Unfortunately, many men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are ineligible to participate in the current program because of burdensome restrictions," he said.
"What we should be saying is, if you want to continue to serve your country, if you want to make a difference in a student's life, there is a place for you in the classroom," Bennet added.
The program began when J.H. "Jack" Hexter, a history professor at Washington University in St. Louis, saw two problems that he wanted to fix: helping inner-city schools find qualified teachers, and helping large numbers of retired military personnel find jobs after their early retirements.
Hexter eventually convinced former Missouri Republican Sen. John Danforth to try to get funding his proposed Troops to Teachers program. And Danforth was successful in getting money included in the 1993 defense spending bill. In 2008 and 2009, Congress appropriated $14 million for the program each year. The new bill would authorize the program for as much as $50 million a year, Matsui said. Since 2002, Congress has spent more than $134 million on the program.
As currently designed, the program offers troops up to $5,000 to help them pay for their education. And then they can get a $10,000 bonus by agreeing to teach in a school with a majority of low-income students for at least three years.
The program has strong backing from the Obama administration. At a hearing of the House Education and Labor Committee in May, Education Secretary Arne Duncan promised to "push very hard" to sell the program.
"I'm a huge fan of Troops to Teachers," Duncan said. "I think it's a phenomenal pool of talent."
McCain said the challenge will be to get the House of Representatives and the Senate to consider the bill during a very busy time, with Congress nearing votes on health care and soon to tackle climate-change legislation, among other things.
He's not expecting much opposition when it comes time to vote, however.
"There may be opponents of this legislation out there," McCain said. "I just don't know who they are."
November 7, 2009
WASHINGTON — Frank McBryde says there are plenty of parallels between serving in the U.S. military and teaching.
"You're not going to become rich, you need loyalty and you need to be dedicated to a task," said McBryde, 54.
After a 23-year career in the Navy and retiring as a senior chief operations specialist, McBryde is now teaching math to sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders in suburban Sacramento, Calif.
The federal government aided in his transition, giving him a $10,000 stipend because he agreed to teach in a school where at least half of the students were poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.
McBryde is one of more than 12,000 service members nationwide who've participated in the program since it began in 1994.
Now Congress is considering a huge expansion: Under a pending bill, the an estimated 98 percent of U.S. schools would be eligible to hire troops-turned-teachers.
McBryde, who grew up in Los Angeles and now lives in Antelope, Calif., said he planned to work in business after his military career, but then he decided to switch gears.
"I wanted my next career to mean something," he said.
Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., said the program helps schools by providing them with more highly qualified math and science teachers while giving veterans "the opportunity to serve their country again."
She's one of a handful of members of Congress promoting the legislation, along with Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, Republican Rep. Tom Petri of Wisconsin and Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut.
"Right now our country is grappling with an aging teaching workforce," Matsui said. "And we have a definite need for qualified schoolteachers, particularly those that can provide mentorship and leadership."
Petri said the Education Department in recent years has restricted the eligibility of schools far beyond what Congress ever intended. As an example, he said, only 13 of the 420 school districts in Wisconsin qualified earlier this year.
Bennet said the program needed to be expanded to attract younger troops, noting the current law requires six years of military service for eligibility.
"Unfortunately, many men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are ineligible to participate in the current program because of burdensome restrictions," he said.
"What we should be saying is, if you want to continue to serve your country, if you want to make a difference in a student's life, there is a place for you in the classroom," Bennet added.
The program began when J.H. "Jack" Hexter, a history professor at Washington University in St. Louis, saw two problems that he wanted to fix: helping inner-city schools find qualified teachers, and helping large numbers of retired military personnel find jobs after their early retirements.
Hexter eventually convinced former Missouri Republican Sen. John Danforth to try to get funding his proposed Troops to Teachers program. And Danforth was successful in getting money included in the 1993 defense spending bill. In 2008 and 2009, Congress appropriated $14 million for the program each year. The new bill would authorize the program for as much as $50 million a year, Matsui said. Since 2002, Congress has spent more than $134 million on the program.
As currently designed, the program offers troops up to $5,000 to help them pay for their education. And then they can get a $10,000 bonus by agreeing to teach in a school with a majority of low-income students for at least three years.
The program has strong backing from the Obama administration. At a hearing of the House Education and Labor Committee in May, Education Secretary Arne Duncan promised to "push very hard" to sell the program.
"I'm a huge fan of Troops to Teachers," Duncan said. "I think it's a phenomenal pool of talent."
McCain said the challenge will be to get the House of Representatives and the Senate to consider the bill during a very busy time, with Congress nearing votes on health care and soon to tackle climate-change legislation, among other things.
He's not expecting much opposition when it comes time to vote, however.
"There may be opponents of this legislation out there," McCain said. "I just don't know who they are."
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Program Helps Military Veterans Become Schoolteachers
One recent afternoon, he tugged at a Slinky, swung a yellow jump-rope and dunked a ruler in water -- all to keep 22 teenagers rapt.
The Navy veteran says his latest mission -- high school physics teacher in Prince William County -- is as challenging as the toughest assignments of his 30-year military career. Paulson, 60, transformed from "Captain Paulson" to "Mr. P." through a federal program that offers a stipend to military personnel who launch a career in the classroom.
Troops to Teachers, which has placed about 11,500 teachers nationwide in 15 years, is one way the Obama administration aims to draw more men and minorities into schools and fill demand in the fields of math, science and special education.
About 82 percent of the former soldiers, sailors, Marines and other veterans who sign up are men. (About a quarter of all teachers are men, according to one estimate.) Nearly 40 percent of Troops to Teachers participants are members of racial or ethnic minorities. The program has put more than 2,000 black men into classrooms.
The recruits are producing results. A recent study found that Florida students taught by Troops to Teachers participants made greater gains in reading than peers taught by teachers with similar classroom experience. In math, students in Troops to Teachers classrooms outperformed those in other classes -- even when the other teacher had more years under his belt.
"Honestly, at first, we thought a military officer dealing with today's fifth-graders and seventh-graders was not going to be very effective," said William A. Owings, an Old Dominion University education professor and one of the study's authors. "We found out that is totally untrue. We have come to believe that you're looking at life experience . . . that has a lot of crossover into good classroom skills."
When Rob LaPin, 30, left the Army to teach government at the troubled Walbrook High School in Baltimore last year, he and a fellow teacher spent lunchtime roaming the streets to find truants. LaPin was the robotics coach, student government sponsor and, much to the amusement of his friends, cheerleading coach and fashion coach.
"It engrossed me completely," said LaPin, who is working in Iraq as a government contractor but plans to return to teaching. "As a soldier in the classroom, my duty wasn't only to ensure my kids had good grades, but also to prepare them for life."
Gerrald Ash-Banks, 16, said he and his classmates in the robotics club stayed after school with LaPin almost every day. They also met on weekends. And when Ash-Banks and his mother were having trouble, LaPin sat him down for a talk. "He was like everybody in robotics' father," Ash-Banks said.
Troops to Teachers, launched in 1994 as the military was downsizing, offers up to $5,000 for courses needed to become a teacher, as well as a bonus of up to $5,000. In return, candidates agree to teach at least three years in a school district where many students live in poverty. The program receives $14.4 million a year from the Department of Education but is operated by the Department of Defense.
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), one of the program's creators, sees it as one option for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. He is leading an effort on Capitol Hill to expand the program to bring Troops to Teachers into more schools in middle-class communities.
"It's really meant to be a broad program to help all schools," Petri said. "Kids really need to get a kind of grounding and a framework so they have some limits and can develop within them. And I think because of their experience, military people are almost uniformly able to do that."
For Paulson, it's a natural step from the microcosm of a submarine to his Woodbridge High School classroom. You've got to spot problems and fix them fast, he said.
There are hints of Paulson's background in his perfect posture. But one day last month, the man at the front of the class, in a bright blue shirt and smiley-face tie, did not seem the "super-secret mission" type.
Paulson threaded a long coil of wire onto a pole and shook the other end, demonstrating waves. He beat hollow tubes against the desk so students could hear that the shorter tube produced a higher-pitched thunk.
Each time Paulson demonstrates a physics concept, he's keenly aware of real-world applications. "I either had to repair it underwater with no lights on or had to fix it to get underway to take a VIP on a cruise," he said of his time commanding a submarine.
But what are kids most interested in? "They always want to know if I killed anybody," Paulson said. "I say when we launched a Tomahawk missile at this specific building all that was left was a crater. Yes, we did it at night, and maybe the building was evacuated. We can only hope so."
Midway through class, the students marched out into the hallway for a quick water fountain break. Paulson pulled out a yellow rope, tossed the far end to a student and started swinging.
Terrance Miller, 17, jumped in. Paulson began counting: "One one-thousand. Two one-thousand. Three one-thousand . . . "
"When Terrance was jumping two jumps per second, what was the period?" Paulson asked.
"One half," several students chimed in.
"Right," Paulson said. "It took him a half-second per jump."
As students jumped, the class calculated the frequency. Then a few students hopped in just for fun.
"I thought he was going to be kind of strict and uptight," Miller said of his teacher. "He ended up being very cool."
The Navy veteran says his latest mission -- high school physics teacher in Prince William County -- is as challenging as the toughest assignments of his 30-year military career. Paulson, 60, transformed from "Captain Paulson" to "Mr. P." through a federal program that offers a stipend to military personnel who launch a career in the classroom.
Troops to Teachers, which has placed about 11,500 teachers nationwide in 15 years, is one way the Obama administration aims to draw more men and minorities into schools and fill demand in the fields of math, science and special education.
About 82 percent of the former soldiers, sailors, Marines and other veterans who sign up are men. (About a quarter of all teachers are men, according to one estimate.) Nearly 40 percent of Troops to Teachers participants are members of racial or ethnic minorities. The program has put more than 2,000 black men into classrooms.
The recruits are producing results. A recent study found that Florida students taught by Troops to Teachers participants made greater gains in reading than peers taught by teachers with similar classroom experience. In math, students in Troops to Teachers classrooms outperformed those in other classes -- even when the other teacher had more years under his belt.
"Honestly, at first, we thought a military officer dealing with today's fifth-graders and seventh-graders was not going to be very effective," said William A. Owings, an Old Dominion University education professor and one of the study's authors. "We found out that is totally untrue. We have come to believe that you're looking at life experience . . . that has a lot of crossover into good classroom skills."
When Rob LaPin, 30, left the Army to teach government at the troubled Walbrook High School in Baltimore last year, he and a fellow teacher spent lunchtime roaming the streets to find truants. LaPin was the robotics coach, student government sponsor and, much to the amusement of his friends, cheerleading coach and fashion coach.
"It engrossed me completely," said LaPin, who is working in Iraq as a government contractor but plans to return to teaching. "As a soldier in the classroom, my duty wasn't only to ensure my kids had good grades, but also to prepare them for life."
Gerrald Ash-Banks, 16, said he and his classmates in the robotics club stayed after school with LaPin almost every day. They also met on weekends. And when Ash-Banks and his mother were having trouble, LaPin sat him down for a talk. "He was like everybody in robotics' father," Ash-Banks said.
Troops to Teachers, launched in 1994 as the military was downsizing, offers up to $5,000 for courses needed to become a teacher, as well as a bonus of up to $5,000. In return, candidates agree to teach at least three years in a school district where many students live in poverty. The program receives $14.4 million a year from the Department of Education but is operated by the Department of Defense.
Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), one of the program's creators, sees it as one option for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. He is leading an effort on Capitol Hill to expand the program to bring Troops to Teachers into more schools in middle-class communities.
"It's really meant to be a broad program to help all schools," Petri said. "Kids really need to get a kind of grounding and a framework so they have some limits and can develop within them. And I think because of their experience, military people are almost uniformly able to do that."
For Paulson, it's a natural step from the microcosm of a submarine to his Woodbridge High School classroom. You've got to spot problems and fix them fast, he said.
There are hints of Paulson's background in his perfect posture. But one day last month, the man at the front of the class, in a bright blue shirt and smiley-face tie, did not seem the "super-secret mission" type.
Paulson threaded a long coil of wire onto a pole and shook the other end, demonstrating waves. He beat hollow tubes against the desk so students could hear that the shorter tube produced a higher-pitched thunk.
Each time Paulson demonstrates a physics concept, he's keenly aware of real-world applications. "I either had to repair it underwater with no lights on or had to fix it to get underway to take a VIP on a cruise," he said of his time commanding a submarine.
But what are kids most interested in? "They always want to know if I killed anybody," Paulson said. "I say when we launched a Tomahawk missile at this specific building all that was left was a crater. Yes, we did it at night, and maybe the building was evacuated. We can only hope so."
Midway through class, the students marched out into the hallway for a quick water fountain break. Paulson pulled out a yellow rope, tossed the far end to a student and started swinging.
Terrance Miller, 17, jumped in. Paulson began counting: "One one-thousand. Two one-thousand. Three one-thousand . . . "
"When Terrance was jumping two jumps per second, what was the period?" Paulson asked.
"One half," several students chimed in.
"Right," Paulson said. "It took him a half-second per jump."
As students jumped, the class calculated the frequency. Then a few students hopped in just for fun.
"I thought he was going to be kind of strict and uptight," Miller said of his teacher. "He ended up being very cool."
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