Program Helps Vets Get Teaching Jobs

Finding a job can be a difficult challenge for anyone in the current economic environment, but it can be particularly hard for the nation's veterans as they transition from the military to the civilian world.

One program is trying to make that easier by helping veterans trade in combat for the classroom.

Jim McClellan spent 25 years in the Marine Corps flying electronic warfare aircraft, then teaching as a flight instructor and later a faculty member at the Naval War College.

After more than two decades in the military, McClellan was ready to retire and tackle the new mission of teaching high school.

"I came into the scenario here with three Masters degrees and didn't have the certification for the Commonwealth of Virginia," said McClellan.

McClellan found Troops to Teachers , a federal program that helped him pay for his certification courses and to get job interviews.

"You didn't feel like you were on your on out there or fumbling around in the dark, which is a problem that many people who are changing careers struggle with," said McClellan.

McClellan has traded in his Lieutenant Colonel title and now, "They call me Mr. Mac," said McClellan.

McClellan is now getting ready for another school year as a special education teacher at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Virginia, where he teaches world history and government.

"When you can talk first hand about a battlefield you've been to or a country you've actually seen it helps bring it home to the kids," said McClellan.

Troops to Teachers offers funding and advice to military personnel who want to launch a second career in the classroom. About 82 percent of the veterans who have signed up for the program are men and 38 percent are minorities. Most of the veterans in the program range in age from 40 to 49.

The program offers $5,000 to cover the cost of teaching certifications and a $5,000 bonus to teachers who agree to work at least three years in a public school system with a high percentage of low-income students.

Now, the program is limited to high-need schools.

McClellan said he would love to see more veterans follow him into the classroom. McClellan said he things other veterans would discover it’s a very different but equally rewarding way of continuing a life of service.

"Service to your country; I'm seeing it from a different perspective now," McClellan said.

Troops to Teachers receives funding from the Department of Education but is operated by the Department of Defense.