Veterans Can Assist in Filling Several Open Teaching Positions in Lake County Schools

It’s not as simple as it seems, says Tavares. One who has taught in a classroom before has never uttered those remarks. However, they are now being told by a veteran who aspires to teach as part of a new initiative to help fill the ranks of desperately needed teachers.

The exam is challenging, according to Brittany Fergerson, a Navy veteran who transitioned into teaching after receiving a medical retirement after working as a sonar technician for 612 years.

She admitted that she had only succeeded in two of the four areas but added, “I had no experience, and the items I had prepared for were not on the test. She described the hurdles she must overcome as “neither too hard and not too easy.”

Here is how veterans can become teachers in Florida

The Florida Department of Education grants qualified candidates without a bachelor’s degree a five-year temporary teaching credential for veterans. Applicants must also fulfill the prerequisites for a temporary certificate, which include:

• Have completed at least 48 months of active duty with an honorable or medical discharge.
• Obtain a 2.5-grade point average and at least 60 college credits.
• Possess a passing grade on a Florida subject test.
• Set up a job at a charter school or in a Florida school system.
• Pass a background check without incident.

A mentor teacher will be assigned to veterans who complete their five-year temporary teaching certificate for a minimum of two years.

According to the state website, “Military wives and families are not eligible for this program.” Lake Schools have received applications from 20 veterans and are actively seeking more.

Many options for Lake County’s Brittany Fergerson

“My five-year goal,” says Fergerson, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She might spend the long term in a hospital or the classroom. She will initially serve as a long-term stand-in at Fruitland Park Elementary, where two of her kids attend classes.

This, she remarked, “was a tremendous benefit for me.” Even more crucial for the position: “I adore children.” She will have a mentor assigned to her who will show her the ropes and aid her in meeting the requirements for her certification.

She is not the only supporter of the program who is enthused. Jonathan, her ex-husband, teaches e-commerce at South Lake High School and is also a veteran of the Navy. He began working as a teacher before the veteran program was implemented. She said, “He fell in love with it.”

Teachers are needed in many Florida school districts

Nationwide, there is a dire demand for instructors. Among the reasons are COVID, poor salaries despite rising inflation, working conditions, problems with student behavior, and a lack of support.

According to a district official, the Lake District was short 82 classroom teachers, 87 teaching assistants, and 28 bus drivers before the start of the school year in August. In the entire state, roughly 9,000 teachers were required.

According to the FDOE, the following subjects are crucial: math, science-physical, science-general, reading, and English as a second language. Officials from Lake County did not begin without some hope.

According to a press release from the district from July, “Lake County reached an agreement with the Lake County Education Association to give current teachers raises of up to $4,625, one of the largest pay increases announced so far among Central Florida school districts, and to boost starting pay for teachers up to $48,500.” Additionally, it approved pay raises for non-teaching staff members, including bus drivers.

Jake Vest has his say about veterans becoming teachers

At least initially, there was some opposition to the idea of enabling veterans to obtain a teaching degree, especially among those unaware of all the requirements. Jake Vest, a Vietnam veteran who has been a certified teacher for many years and a former journalist, expressed his displeasure with some of the certificate requirements in general in a Facebook post this summer.

I encountered fully trained, advanced, degreed, multi-endorsed ‘educators’ during my fifteen years in the industry who couldn’t teach a dog to drool. Along the way, the author stated that I met three brilliant teachers who were fired because they failed one of the numerous absurd certification exams.

Could you proceed? Do you realize how beneficial foundational texts and literary works are in comparison? What is the smallest speech-related functional unit called? What was the position taken by Rudolf Flesch in his widely read book “Johnny Can’t Read”?

Would pass an exam on this twaddle have improved the dismissed instructors? “Nope. They would simply get certified. It takes “patience, common sense, excitement, the ability to enjoy the company of youngsters, and the ability to care what is going to happen to them if they don’t learn how to read and perform multiplication,” according to Vest, to be a successful teacher. And perhaps I know a little more than your students, certified or not.