Troops to Teachers, Proud to Serve Again, DOD, MSDE, DOE

Who May Register

The U.S. Department of Education establishes the operating rules that govern the schools where Troops to Teachers participants who accept financial assistance may fulfill their three-year teaching obligation. There are revised rules which determine these eligible schools. These revised rules will take effect for anyone registering in the Troops to Teachers program on or after the implementation date of September 15, 2005. http://www.dantes.doded.mil/Dantes_web/troopstoteachers/rulerevision.asp

Eligibility for Referral and Placement Assistance

Referral and Placement Assistance includes the following services:

Access to our State Offices for counseling relative to becoming a certified teacher and for placement
assistance
Participation in the job referral process via the Internet
Opportunity to post a mini-resume made available to school district recruiters
Use of the TTT Electronic Bulletin Board where participants can post teaching related messages
Use of the MENTOR Connection to contact TTT participants who are teaching for hints about
transitioning to teaching as a second career

Those eligible for elementary and secondary teacher Referral and Placement Assistance Services must meet the following criteria:

A. Service Requirements:

1) Military personnel who have retired, 2) Active duty personnel who separate with six or more years of service on or after October 1, 1990, or 3) Current members of the Selected Reserve with six or more years of creditable service towards retirement. The last period of service must be honorable. Those selected to participate in the Program before retirement, separation, or release from active duty may continue to participate only if the last period of service is characterized as honorable.

B. Educational Requirements:

Must hold a Baccalaureate or advanced degree from an accredited institution at the time of registration for academic teacher referral - or - have the equivalent of one year of college with six years of work experience in a vocational or technical field or meet state requirements for vocational/technical teacher referral.

Eligibility for Financial Assistance

In addition to the Education Requirements noted above and pending availability of funds, financial assistance may be provided to qualified servicemembers in the form of either (A) a stipend of up to $5K for teacher certification expenses for which individuals must teach for three years in a “high-need” school district; or (B) a bonus of $10K to teach for three years in a school serving a high percentage of disadvantaged students.

To qualify, a Service Member must meet one of the requirements listed below.

Active Duty:

AD-1. Retired from active duty.
AD-2. Active duty member with approved date of retirement with one year or less remaining before retirement.
AD-3. Separated on or after January 8, 2002 for physical disability. Must register within four years after separation.

Reserve Component :

RC-1. Retired from the Selected Reserve.
RC-2. Currently serving in the Selected Reserve with 10 or more years of creditable service towards retirement and commit to serving an additional three years, or until eligible for retirement.
RC-3. Separated from the Selected Reserve due to a physical disability on or after January 8, 2002. Must register within four years after separation.
RC-4. Individuals transitioning from active duty on or after January 8, 2002, and have served six years on active duty immediately before separation, and commit to three years with a Selected Reserve unit. Must register within four years after separation.

Register Now

To register for the Troops to Teachers program, download the registration form provided through the national DANTES website. This form is viewable in Adobe Reader. For the free Adobe download, go to http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/.