Celebrating Military Appreciation Month through Access to Educator Preparation
Since its designation by Congress in 1999, National Military Appreciation Month in May, is the nation’s opportunity to honor the service and sacrifice of servicemembers and their families. Part of honoring that service is to ensure active and veteran military have access to educator preparation for those seeking to be teachers or administrators in the nation’s PK–12 schools.
Many colleges of education, such as William & Mary, actively participate in Troops to Teachers programs, which counsel and refer service people to teacher workforce pathways. Educator preparation programs (EPPs) that engage with Troops to Teacher programs can increase participation in comprehensive, quality preparation. Other institutions pave the way for service people to become educators by increasing access to their existing programs. Arizona State University, for example, invests in creating and marketing resources like tuition assistance and spousal benefits for service people so that recruitment and retention into education studies programs is accessible.
AACTE hopes members find time this month to consider how EPPs and PK-20 schools can benefit from the experiences of our service members and their families. Learn more about AACTE’s Military Affiliation and Educator Preparation Topical Action Group (TAG), which aims to highlight longstanding connections between the military and education as well as cultivate new opportunities between the two.
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