HAMPTON, Va. — A national program called Troops to Teachers, with centers in states across the country including in Virginia, is helping veterans become teachers.
That program is having an impact in Hampton Roads.
James Kimbrough is a teacher at Kecoughtan High School in Hampton.
He’s also a 22-year Army veteran.
His journey to the classroom began while he was still in the Army.
“I just grew to absolutely love helping soldiers be better versions of themselves; furthering their career, furthering their training, and helping them go through that. That, I think, is what started this idea of becoming a teacher," Kimbrough explained.
When he retired, he reached out to Troops to Teachers for help becoming a teacher.
“They walked me through the process, helped me find some materials to study for the practice, which is required, pushed me to go take the practice, and there’s some other certification requirements we have to do," said Kimbrough.
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The organization was also able to help him get a provisional license quickly once he met the requirements for one and helped prepare him for interviews.
“We’ve assisted up to 3,000 individuals since 2017," said Troops to Teachers Virginia Center Interim Director Karen Hogue.
Hogue said around 200 veterans had become licensed so far and the number of people the center is helping is growing.
But there’s a problem. Funding is running out. There's no guarantee the Virginia Center will be funded beyond 2024.
"The national program office made a request for unappropriated funds to the DoD and that gave us some funding (in 2022.) There was no additional funding for the final year on our five-year contract, so we are operating on a no-cost extension until we use up all of our funding," Hogue explained.
The National Troops to Teachers program is funded by the Department of Defense, though the Virginia office does have some supplemental funding from the Virginia Department of Education.
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“What’s so important is getting these individuals into classrooms because they have such unique work experience and education background. They’re traveled, they’ve been around the world. They have experiences to bring to your children in the classroom that, maybe, another teacher may not have.”
Without the program, that could be in jeopardy.
"Teacher licensure is a very intricate web of information and you can't find everything you need to know in one location and there's a lot of grey area," Hogue said.
"I could not be a bigger fan of Troops to Teachers," said Kimbrough. “I think (my transition) would’ve been a lot longer. I would not have transitioned smoothly out of the service and into teaching. I probably would’ve had to pick up another job, whether that be a substitute or contracting or something else post-military. They made that transition easier. Now that all military services are investing more in transitioning, I think more folks are available to take advantage of Troops to Teachers’ services."
For Kimbrough, being in the classroom gives him a sense of pride.
“Absolutely I’m prideful when I watch the students walk across the stage. It’s a great day because we start summer break but it’s also extremely sad because I maintain some relationships with students that have graduated. But you know, I just hope that they benefited from their time with me in the classroom or otherwise," Kimbrough said.
