March 19, 1999
United States International University (USIU) is working actively with the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to promote the Troops to Teachers program, through which former service members and DOD and Department of Energy retirees are encouraged to enter the teaching profession.
Through the Troops to Teachers program, the Department of Defense provides a stipend of up to $5,000 to offset expenses incurred while qualified applicants pursue a teaching credential. If selected, participants must agree to accept an offer of full-time employment for five years at a school that receives funding under Chapter 1, Title I, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. These schools are typically in economically disadvantaged communities.
Eligibility to participate in Troops to Teachers is extended to two groups, Service members with at least six continuous years of active duty who have been honorably discarded or released from active duty within the past year are eligible. Civilian employees of the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy who have received notice of termination from government employment because of reductions in defense spending or the closure or realignment of a military installation within the past year are also eligible.
USIU's teacher education program is a 10-month program of course work and student teaching or internship. Students may begin the program in any of the four academic quarters of the year. USIU's teacher credential program is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC).
Teacher credential students must have completed a four-year bachelor's degree. For those who have not, USIU will introduce in September a new blended program, which combines the coursework for a bachelor's degree and teaching credential into a single program that will take slightly more than four years to complete. USIU is among the first institutions to have received accelerated approval from the CCTC to implement such a program. Troops to Teachers funding is not applicable to the blended program.
For more information about Troops to Teachers and USIU's teacher credential program, contact Janet Castanos, Ph.D., director of teacher education at USIU at jcastano@usiu.edu or (619) 635-4825. USIU is located at 10455 Pomerado Road, one mile east of Interstate 15 in Scripps Ranch.
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