Many troops enter through a federal program called Troops to Teachers, which places veterans and reservists with college degrees in teacher certification classes. More than 1,500 graduates -- and many more combat veterans unaffiliated with the program, like Miller -- are working in schools across the West, from California to Colorado, said director John Gantz. More than 4,500 are teaching in the South.
And those numbers are expected to climb, Gantz said.
Miller, 26, landed his first teaching job three months before he was deployed to Iraq in 2004. His unit, Alpha Company, First Tank Battalion, Second Marine Division, served 200 days last year in Hit, Iraq, and he was awarded the prestigious Military Vanguard Award and a Bronze Star after rescuing three comrades wounded in a roadside bomb attack.
Combat experience, he said, has bolstered an approach to teaching that draws frequently from lessons learned in war.
``The focus of the military is mission accomplishment and that translates to teaching in so many ways," Miller said, sitting before a classroom wall tacked with pictures of platoon mates in fatigues. ``You climb the ranks and are expected to teach newer guys. So, teaching is a major component of the military."
Nationally, a teacher shortage could befall American schools. According to Department of Education projections, 2 million teachers will be needed to staff mostly urban and rural schools in the next 10 years.
Schools are successfully staving off the shortfall by expanding recruitment efforts beyond the college pipeline. In addition to the thousands of military veterans, many of the vacancies will be plugged by a nontraditional group of mid-career professionals and retirees.
