Troops to Teachers helps vets become teachers

By Andrea J. Cook, Journal Staff Writer | Monday, March 20, 2006

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

Trading sergeants' stripes or an officer's insignia for textbooks and lesson plans was a good second career move, according to four Air Force retirees.

Michael Jones once worked with the bomb squad. Now, he spends his days with fifth-graders at Whitewood Elementary School.

"I loved the 21 years in the military, but I made the right choice," the former senior master sergeant said.

Dale Nuttle made routine trips between the Pentagon and the White House during a four-year assignment in Washington, D.C. The master sergeant's duties gave him access to Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

"It was just a fun time, a very important time," Nuttle said.

Now, school time is important.

After 25 years in the Air Force, Nuttle earned his teaching degree at Black Hills State University and started teaching 10 years ago. He teaches sixth-grade social studies at North Middle School in Rapid City.

"I love teaching and working with kids," Nuttle said.

Chief Master Sgt. Bill Eldridge had a degree in electronics when he retired after 30 years and three days in the service in 1995.

One year later, Eldridge started teaching math at Douglas Middle School.

"I tell people, I wanted to do something that was calm and easy-going," Eldridge said with a grin. "I didn't want to push it in my later years."

Al Buhler had a high school teaching degree when he joined the Air Force. When the lieutenant colonel retired 22 years later, teaching was going to be a temporary job while he determined what to do with the rest of his life. That was 11 years ago.

"I still find satisfaction going to school every day," said Buhler, who is the technology coordinator for Douglas Middle School.

Transitioning from military service to school teacher was not simple for any of these men, but there is a program that made it easier for them to become teachers.

Troops to Teachers is a federally funded program started in 1994 to help men and women in the military make the transition into a new career in education. The program was redesigned in 2001 to help meet a nationwide teacher shortage.

Since 2002, the Northern Plains Region Troops to Teachers program has placed 94 teachers in Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, according to LeRoy Gaub, the program's director.

The program is a resource for qualified military personnel providing information and help to meet state licensing and teacher-certification requirements.

Help can include as much as $5,000 in financial assistance to cover costs. Through a bonus program, a teacher can receive a $10,000 bonus by making a three-year commitment to an eligible high-need school district.

Teaching as a Second Career seminars will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday and from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Wednesday at the Education and Training Center at Ellsworth Air Force Base. For more information or to reserve a seat, call the Education and Training Center at 385-2312.

"It's a good program. I would have been less likely to be hired had it not been for Troops to Teachers," Buhler said.

People with military experience are making valuable contributions in the classroom, according to Melody Schopp, director of the Office of Accreditation and Teacher Quality for the state Department of Education.

"These individuals are well-trained in discipline and in their second careers want to do something significant and make a difference," Schopp said.

Jones completed a business degree while he was in the Air Force. After retiring, he started classes at Black Hills State University to earn a teaching degree.

The financial help from Troops to Teachers made it easier for Jones to return to school for the three years.

"It was a struggle coming out of the military, and my wife was really the only one working," Jones said.

Jones said he appreciated the support Troops to Teachers gave him by monitoring his progress through school. And the program was willing to help him find a job.

"That was the big thing that got me hooked on it originally; the money was secondary," Jones said.

Nuttle, who finished his degree before learning about Troops to Teachers, plans to use the program to finish his master's degree.

Nuttle, who started as a math teacher, has discovered his niche as a social-studies teacher. He brings into his classroom the world that he experienced in the military. Friends in the military frequently send pictures and information from around the world for his lessons.

"I have to make this interesting for the kids, and that's what we do," he said, looking around his room, where Chinese lanterns line a set of shelves and a replica of an Egyptian sarcophagus dominates one corner.

Nuttle said that his students will learn to write in the languages of the countries they study. They also listen to music and learn math from different cultures.

Eldridge brings his background in avionics into his sixth-grade math classes, where students have used flight maps to chart courses and calculate distance.

Lee Thomas, principal at Douglas Middle School, says he likes the experience and enthusiasm that the former military men bring to their teaching.

"You have someone with tremendous maturity and also tremendous worldwide knowledge, but they have the enthusiasm of a first-year teacher," Thomas said.

And there's also a bit of the kid left in the military people that makes it easy for them to connect with students, Thomas said.

They also have a commitment to their students that comes with serving in the military, Eldridge said.

"Most career military people are idealists. We believe in the good parts of the country, and we hope that we're contributing something to that," Eldridge said.

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com