Answering the Call: How Military Veterans Could Help Address Teacher Shortages
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas public schools were experiencing a significant teacher shortage, and this has only been exacerbated by a combination of factors, including an increased workload, lack of support, classroom discipline challenges, and a growing culture war that uses teachers as political pawns.
According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), 13.4% of teachers left the profession between the fall of 2021 and the fall of 2022. Most new teachers in Texas are being certified through alternative certification programs rather than traditional college- or university-based educator preparation programs. This trend has helped recruit talented professionals from all walks of life to fill vacancies in classrooms all over the state, but there may be an overlooked market that could help address this problem and others: veterans.
And it could be a win-win: When military members decide to leave the service to pursue new careers as a civilian, they all too often struggle to find jobs that suit their needs, skills, and values.
Ben Armstrong served as the director of strategic partnerships and outreach for NextOp, a veteran employment nonprofit for post-9/11 enlisted service members who are transitioning out of service. A Marine Corps veteran, Armstrong worked closely with communities, employers, and professional organizations to help successfully place transitioning military members into civilian careers.
“The majority of the people we work with go into technical and mechanical careers because that’s a big part of what enlisted people do in the military,” Armstrong says. “As a result, many service members never consider a career in education.”
This unfortunate reality has left a potentially huge market of skilled professionals looking for meaningful employment virtually untapped. The few government programs designed to address this issue have not had much recent success, and the need for quality teachers has never been higher. So what’s standing in the way of transitioning service members becoming teachers, and are they even a good fit for the classroom?
New Frontiers, Old Challenges
While veterans bring many strengths to teaching, transitioning to a civilian education role can still present challenges, and these can vary widely depending on several factors. Across the board, veterans possess many valuable skills, but translating military terminology and experience into civilian job descriptions can be a major stumbling block. Identifying how military skills apply to specific civilian roles requires guidance and support.
Additionally, some military training and experience may not be recognized or valued in the civilian job market, and civilian positions may require additional certification or education. This is especially true for veterans looking to enter education who need to obtain a Texas teaching certification, even if they performed similar roles in the military.
Region 18 ATPE Director Gail Campos joined the U.S. Army Reserve when she was still a junior in high school. After college, she went active duty and eventually returned to the reserves, serving a total of 25 years. She retired as a first sergeant, and throughout her military service, she taught classes and training sessions to her soldiers. She began looking at education careers after one asked her: “You are so patient; have you ever thought about becoming a teacher?”
Campos now teaches in Big Spring ISD, and she recalls her own difficulties in transitioning careers. One struggle in particular is geographic relocation, including finding housing and the loss of the close-knit support network found in the military, which can lead to feelings of isolation and stress.
“You definitely need a support system around you,” Campos says. “In New Mexico, I stayed at home with my kids and had no family around. I was in the reserve, so when it was time for my drill and my husband was gone, I had to rely on whoever could help me for those two weeks. Sometimes that was as easy as after-school programs, but there were also times when I had to send my kids to my mom’s.”
There are also cases where school districts are hesitant to hire National Guard or reserve members because of contract commitments that could interfere with their classroom hours.
“One big downside was that schools knew that in the reserves you have drill and travel that can keep you out of the classroom periodically,” Campos says. “Even ones that say they support military don’t really want to deal with that.”
Additionally, some employers may have misconceptions about veterans or may not fully understand the value of military experience. Other times, that experience can be misconstrued for something entirely different.
“When I went on my first interview, I had to explain how my military skills would be applicable in the classroom, so I leaned on the idea that I would have great classroom management,” Campos recalls. “It turned out to be the toughest year of my career because motivating and disciplining young students can be very different than soldiers. The idea that I would have stellar classroom management turned out to be unrealistic, and that year was a struggle.”
John Cave is a licensed veteran service officer who served in both the U.S. Navy and Texas State Guard. He works with a veterans organization in Harris County to help service members file Veterans Affairs disability claims. Cave has observed that many veterans don’t know where to go to put their skills to work in the civilian world or what opportunities they could pursue, and they may struggle to find a civilian job that feels as meaningful or fulfilling as their military service.
“A lot of transitioning veterans don’t know what’s available to them,” Cave explains. “Most of the veterans I talk to get into law enforcement and things like that because that’s what they feel like they can do.”
Cave believes that transitioning service members can benefit greatly from professional mentoring, especially in helping them communicate their value.
“Outside the military, many of the technical jobs don’t easily translate,” Cave says. “For example, there’s no crossover to the civilian world I’ve ever heard of for a machine gunner. That being said, job titles and education aren’t everything. I think the focus should be on what marketable skills you acquired and what unique things you bring to the table.”
Another potential roadblock that service members face is a shift in mindset as many continue to strongly identify with their military roles. Transitioning to civilian life can require redefining one’s identity beyond the military uniform.
“I think that’s one of the hardest parts about translating from the military to the civilian world,” Armstrong says. “I call it the ‘anything problem.’ In the military, they push leadership down to the lowest level possible, but then you get out and you go and talk to people in business, or even education, and they want to know what you can do for them. You’ve been asked to do anything and everything for the service, and the civilian employer thinks, ‘That’s a little intense. We’re really not looking for someone to do anything. We’re looking for somebody to do this job.’”
Addressing these challenges often requires support networks, career counseling, education on civilian job market norms, and sometimes therapy to manage emotional adjustments. Transition programs that provide mentoring, job placement assistance, and skills training can significantly help in easing this process.
“People leaving the service need to be mindful that their approach to work—their mindset—has been changed by their experience,” Armstrong says. “And it is both an obstacle and the secret to success.”
“I think there should be more support for our teachers. They have a very tough job, and these heroes are teaching the future of this country. Both professions are on the frontlines. It takes a very special group of people to do these jobs, and they have my utmost respect for getting into these challenging fields.”
Lessons From Service
The correlation between the two separate fields of military service and teaching may not be obvious at first glance, but Armstrong argues that all public servants have a lot in common.
“It’s not often that we hear someone right out of the military want to go in education,” Armstrong says. “When people get out of the service, they are typically looking for something that aligns with their values, and the service connection isn’t always easy to see.”
Armstrong believes that the most important part of service is understanding your values and embodying them in your work.
“I think that people who transition to the education sector are interested in the development of people,” Armstrong says. “And it probably offers them an emotional return on investment that other things they engage with don’t provide.”
Public school teachers and military service members face several similar challenges, despite their different professional contexts. Pressures that weigh on both disciplines come from a combination of challenges, including high-stress environments and working with limited resources.
“I think there should be more support for our teachers,” Cave says. “They have a very tough job, and these heroes are teaching the future of this country. Both professions are on the frontlines. It takes a very special group of people to do these jobs, and they have my utmost respect for getting into these challenging fields.”
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ATPE President Michael Sweet has been a teacher for 24 years and is a U.S. Army veteran of the Gulf War. He believes that veterans are a great fit for schools.
“We need to do a better job of recognizing our teachers and our veterans,” Sweet says. “A little bit of recognition goes a long way. You might think recognition doesn’t mean anything, but it does.”
Both teachers and service members face mental health challenges related to the stress of service.
Sweet has a message for Texas teachers that relates to his own experiences entering the classroom after exiting the military. “Many veterans, like me, enter education with PTSD symptoms or some stigma tied to them because of their time in the service, and we should be making every effort to learn about them and support their transition.”
As teachers often feel undervalued and face undue criticism from the public, policymakers, and the media, service members can feel misunderstood or unappreciated in a similar way.
“We don’t have a country without our veterans, and we have to understand that sometimes there are conflicts that maybe we don’t agree with but that has nothing to do with the individual service member,” Cave explains. “Those decisions are way above their pay grade, and I feel like teachers get a bad rap in a similar way. And it’s not right.”
Additionally, teacher and military workloads and stress can affect their family life, and they may struggle to balance professional and personal responsibilities.
“In the military, especially in leadership positions, your job doesn’t finish when you leave for the day; it goes with you,” Campos says. “I think teaching is the same way. I have had to learn to carve out time for my family.”
With all of these similarities, it is no wonder that military veterans can naturally transition into excellent teachers and often excel in the classroom.
“Many of us do very well in the classroom,” Sweet says. “To me, it is less about theory and more about handling the day-to-day challenges, and that is where many veterans excel. In the service, you’re taught leadership and working as a team, and this is perfect because teachers do not work on an island.”
Additionally, veterans are trained to think critically and solve problems efficiently—skills that are crucial in the classroom for both teaching and managing students.
“Veterans tend to be disciplined and strong at troubleshooting,” Cave says. “Because of this, they often take a leadership role when issues arise and use their training to work through tough problems.”
Sweet says that his years of military experience definitely helped prepare him for being an educator.
“There are so many things that I learned in the Army,” Sweet says. “Everything from working with a team, leadership, and especially dealing with difficult situations. These lessons helped me become who I am as an educator, and I am proud of my service in both fields.”
Examining Shortfalls
Leaving military service can be complicated and nerve-wracking, so military transition programs have been established to make the journey from a military career to civilian life a bit easier. Unfortunately, government programs, such as Transition Assistance Program (TAP) and Troops to Teachers, have fallen short in satisfying the needs of many transitioning service members.
TAP was specifically designed to equip exiting members with the knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to make informed decisions and successfully transition into civilian careers or other pursuits.
“The reality is that the breadth of the program is too great for the time frame that they present it in,” Armstrong says. “The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Labor (DOL) have recently restructured it to start a year before you get out, but the reality that we’re seeing currently is that our military is very small, and the needs of the military (readiness, production, and training) at a command level outweigh the needs of the individual.”
This translates to a certain portion of members not actually having the opportunity to fully participate in the program. There is currently a similar underutilization of the recently reauthorized Troops to Teachers program, which was designed to help service members and veterans become certified and employed as teachers in K-12 schools, regardless of what subject area or grade level they want to teach.
These programs collectively aim to supply comprehensive support systems for veterans looking to transition into education—providing financial aid, certification guidance, job placement assistance, and more.
“I wish transition programs lasted months instead of weeks,” Campos says. “I think there’s more resources out there now than there used to be for veterans, but it still needs improvement. The process is anything but quick, and I wish there was more time to thoughtfully complete the transition.”
After Sweet left active duty, he attended college with the help of the Montgomery GI Bill and used his degree to enter an alternative certification program in 2001. “I didn’t know I wanted to be an educator until a few years after I left the service. It was very easy because there was support from the school district and they needed teachers, much like they do now.”
Sweet’s experience highlights how well the system can work in the right circumstances. He is grateful for the assistance he received and would like to see other veterans find their way into successful careers, especially in the classroom.
“I honestly don’t think that veterans are getting a good idea of how to transition their skills outside of the traditional criminal justice route,” Sweet says. “No one talks to you about careers in education. Even at my campus last year, there were only three of us who were veterans. And only two of us were teachers and the other a custodian.”
During the 2023 regular session of the Texas Legislature, Rep. Matt Shaheen (R–Plano) passed a bill that allows veterans to obtain a temporary five-year teaching certificate, subbing their leadership or training experience for the required training received by teachers in an educator preparation program.
ATPE worked with Shaheen to modify the original iteration of the bill, which would have allowed veterans with no training to go directly into the classroom and be certified. Ultimately, HB 621 was also changed to require at least 20 hours of training before candidates enter the classroom, as well as to include first responders, restrict their placement to only career and technical education, and ensure participants taking advantage of the bill would only receive a temporary, three-year certification.
The bill passed both chambers and was signed into law by the governor June 13, 2023. The hope is that this legislation will leverage the experience of veterans and first responders, providing them with a pathway for full certification without just opening a floodgate of teachers in the classroom.
Unfortunately, this program has had little impact on either transitioning veterans or teacher vacancies so far. According to The Dallas Morning News, only 28 military veterans received certifications through this new program between Sept. 1, 2023, and June 25, 2024, and only time will tell what approaches can actually help solve either problem.
A New Mission
In 2011, the DOD created the Skill Bridge Program, a military internship program that allows transitioning service members to start a new career or training program while they’re still getting paid by the military for three to six months.
“In theory, it’s ideal,” Armstrong admits. “But the way that it’s administered currently is to leave it up to their unit commanding officer to allow them to participate in the program, and often unit readiness and training serve a higher need than the individual’s.”
Armstrong thinks the solution may be to take Skill Bridge out of the hands of the commanding officer and remove these members from the unit’s books. By placing participants in a separate transition status, they can leverage those resources away from the mission and readiness needs of the unit.
This could look something like the current distinction of Inactive Reserve, where a portion of an initial eight-year military contract is not in active duty status. In this situation, though, members don’t get paid, and they are still subject to being recalled in times of war and according to the needs of the military.
“I got out in 2004, and I still see individuals exiting who are experiencing the exact same disconnection and confusion that I did,” Armstrong says. “So I don’t think the government has fully solved the problem.”
Even with all of the existing programs aimed to ease the burden of transition, many veterans exit service without a career or clear next step already planned.
“Ninety percent of people quit the first job they take within the first year of exiting military service because they’re getting a job and not a career,” Armstrong explains. “They’re just taking something to make money, and they do this for a variety of reasons.”
To potentially solve this problem as well as address the teacher shortage, Texas needs to continue to encourage military veterans to enter the teaching profession. This approach can be beneficial for both transitioning service members looking for a meaningful career and educational institutions that have vacancies to fill.
“I wonder if there’s any way that education organizations could communicate with transitioning military members prior to them getting out,” Campos says. “I don’t think a lot of them think about being teachers, but with more time and better access, we could do a better job of recruiting them.”
Campos says that though her transition to classroom teacher was relatively smooth, that is not the norm for most service members.
“I think it’d be great to start recommending education careers long before service members exit active duty,” Campos says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a forklift operator or work security forces, you still learn a bunch of soft skills that you could use in the classroom.”
Although outreach programs that specifically target veterans have been around for decades, few of them are finding success connecting veterans with teaching careers.
“We need a bigger push to tap into that talent pool and recruit those transitioning vets,” Sweet says. “Whether it is job placement services, legislative support, scholarships and grants, or just better communication, we need to let our veterans know that there are education careers available right now that could be a perfect fit for their skills.”
Perhaps by implementing these strategies, the teaching profession can become a more attractive and accessible career path for military veterans, leveraging their unique skills and experiences to enrich the educational environment and fill vacancies at the same time.
