Soldiers for school

[Honeykiss1974]

JUNE 21, 02:37 ET
Chicago Seeks Soldiers for Schools

By NICOLE ZIEGLER DIZON
Associated Press Writer
AP/Charles Bennett [12K]
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CHICAGO (AP) — Lt. Col. Jack Reiff spent the last 20 years in the Army. Now he's ready to move to a different battlefield: the classroom.

Reiff is vying for a spot in a new Chicago Public Schools program that encourages former military members to become educators.

``In my second career, I'd like to have a similarly challenging job,'' said Reiff, a 43-year-old Army project manager in Warren, Mich. ``I think I could offer a lot to students.''

Chicago Public Schools officials are advertising in military magazines and visiting bases in a push for new principals and teachers, particularly young men who might not otherwise consider the profession. It's an idea President Bush embraced during his campaign that has been catching on across the nation.

Bush recently approved $18 million for the Troops to Teachers program, which offers stipends or bonuses to former members of the military who agree to teach for at least three years.

Chicago's program, set to begin this fall, goes a step further. Applicants are divided into two tracks, with a job in school administration the ultimate goal of both.

``It's a natural to go into education as a second career,'' said Lt. Col. Rick Mills, director of Chicago's Junior ROTC program. ``Military personnel are well-equipped both in leadership and management.''

Mills should know. Chicago school officials wooed him from Fort Knox, Ky., a year ago to lead the system's effort to get the military more involved in the schools.

Chicago's program targets both retirees and those who want a career change after years of active duty.

The first track places applicants as full-time substitute teachers while they complete a two-year master's degree and teacher certification program at Chicago State University. They continue to teach for another two years while earning their administrative certification, then spend their final year with a mentor principal.

In the second track, military members who have experience as instructors spend two years teaching Junior ROTC while they earn a master's degree and administrative certificate at Chicago State. They also spend a year with a principal.

Reiff said he decided to apply for one of 20 available spots in the second track. He already holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's in business administration.

``I think I'm a pretty positive role model,'' he said.

Chicago opened the country's first all-JROTC public high school 1999, and its partnership with the military has won national attention. But the district is not alone in turning to troops to fill teaching spots.

John Gantz, director of the federal Troops to Teachers program, said his office has seen a boom in applicants in the last year since first lady Laura Bush began touring bases to promote the idea. Schools are interested, too, phoning to find out how to get involved.

``From the schools' point of view, what they're getting is someone who has maturity, they have their own self-discipline and they've been successful in a first career,'' Gantz said.

Since 1994, Troops to Teachers has placed about 4,300 former military members in schools across the country, operating mainly as a referral service after its federal funding was cut in 1996. With the new money for stipends and bonuses, Gantz said, the program expects about 1,000 participants this year.

Retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Buckner Sr. was one of the first Troops to Teachers participants placed in Chicago's schools. With eight years of classroom experience under his belt, he now is looking for a job as a school administrator.

The 49-year-old teacher sees a lack of role models for young black men in the public schools, and he became a teacher in part to fill that void. Other military retirees should consider doing the same, he said.

``A lot of young urban kids, they find themselves trapped in the cycle of poverty and gangs,'' Buckner said. ``Knowing what being part of a team really meant, I felt I could help those kids who were perhaps going down the wrong path.''

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On the Net:

Chicago Public Schools: http://www.cps.k12.il.us/

Troops to Teachers: http://voled.doded.mil/dantes/ttt/index2.htm