Principal Investigator and Department: Robert Carson, Education

 Other Co-Investigators and Partners: Le Gaub, Northwest Troops to Teachers

 Funding Organization: Department of Defense, subaward through Montana Office of Public Instruction

 Funder Program Name: Troops to Teachers

 Project Summary:

The Northwest Troops to Teachers program (NWTTT), formerly the Lewis and Clark Troops to Teachers Program (LCTTP), recruits and supports military members and veterans to enter the teaching profession in Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oregon, Wisconsin, Washington and Wyoming, with a particular focus on high need schools and subject areas.  This ten-state consortium serves a combined military and veteran population of over 2.2 million.  In this geographically diverse region the program emphasizes placing veterans in rural communities including schools on and near the region’s American Indian reservations, as well as in high needs urban schools.  NWTTT is housed at Montana State University (MSU), a land-grant university known for its robust teacher preparation programs, and innovative outreach programs to rural and reservation communities.  MSU and NWTTT have fifteen years of experience in working with nontraditional teacher candidates eager to utilize their prior education and work experience in their teaching.

Consortium goals are adopted verbatim from Department of Defense goals as outlined in the Broad Agency Announcement.  Primary objectives of the consortium are to 1) identify and recruit new eligible participants by conducting a multi-dimensioned outreach program, 2) support participants in their career preparation and transition through individualized counseling and placement assistance, and 3) connect participants with teaching jobs.

The MSU team will work in collaboration with part-time program representatives (“State Reps”) located in each state in the region, The regional program has a history of developing long-term channels of communication and collaboration amidst a network of stakeholders, including: veterans and the organizations that serve them; state offices of education; teacher preparation and licensure programs; public school districts; as well as the general public, whose understanding and support provide the healthy context for the program’s continuing success.  This five-year project began May 15, 2018.