Your Military-Connected Community
Community focused and collaborative are two VCU School of Education values that are directly connected to military connected service members and their families. We are excited you are considering one of our academic programs to support your next career steps. From fully online programs to our wide variety of education and leadership programs, you can leverage your past experiences into a meaningful career.
Below you will find additional resources along with a few key faculty and staff members who are excited to support your questions and serve as a resource as you begin your VCU School of Education program.
Teaching Pathway Support for Veterans
Troops to Teachers
The goal of the Troops to Teachers Virginia Center is to help military service members who want to become teachers. The TTT office works with all colleges across the state to find the best option to become licensed as a teacher. It can be overwhelming to look at all of the options for becoming a teacher and TTT wants to make the process as simple as possible. All services are offered at no cost to service members. The TTT Virginia Center's sole purpose is to help make the transition into teaching a positive one.
VCU School of Education Pathways to Teaching Career Switcher Program
The Career Switcher Alternative Route to Licensure Program is designed to provide an option for career professionals to enter Virginia’s classrooms. The career switcher program recognizes the life experiences of qualified individuals and provides participants with skills needed to pursue a teaching career in Virginia.
Teaching Specific Financial Support
From individual School of Education scholarships for veterans, to teaching specific scholarships, grants and funding, there are a number of ways to support your next steps in a teaching profession in Virginia. Check out our financial aid page and email our soeinfo@vcu.edu enrollment management team to support your application and questions.
VCU and Virginia Resources
- Specialized VCU admission support
- Individualized guidance and help when utilizing different military benefits (https://militaryservices.vcu.edu/military-benefits/)
- Serves as a liaison with the Transfer Center to review your military transcripts and review of credit for your military experience per the VCU policy
- VCU Green Zone Training (https://militaryservices.vcu.edu/about-us/green-zone/)
- Support with identifying additional scholarships specific to veterans
TTAC and Students with Disabilities Resources
- TTAC Online is a wonderful resource to connect and engage with fellow families with students with disabilities and best practices and resources to support your students
- Virginia Family Special Education Connection is another resource to review as you familiarize yourself with the individualized educational program (IEP) process and support the accommodations needed for a smooth transition into your student’s new school
Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) - Military Families
- The VDOE Student Services for Military Families is a central place for military connected families new to Virginia. This can be a helpful start and resource as you learn your next steps to enroll your students into our districts across Virginia.
VCU Library Resources
Our VCU School of Education VCU Libraries research librarian is Dr. Sergio Chaparro. The VCU libraries are incredible advocates and partners in our work in supporting military connected students. Below are some additional resources that may be helpful as you transition into your future program:
- VCU Libraries, Resources for Military Students (https://guides.library.vcu.edu/militarystudents)
- VCU Libraries, Research Guides by subject (https://guides.library.vcu.edu/)
Your VCU Military Support Community
Karen Ballengee - School of Education, Virginia Adult Learning Resource Center - Army and Army Reserve - keballengee@vcu.edu
- I am a retired Army clarinet player and I've lived in Arizona, Georgia, Germany, North Carolina (with a tour to Afghanistan), and Oklahoma. I've been to 18 states in the U.S. and 23 countries. I played music for many occasions including the Anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy, national sporting events, and for troops returning from deployment. I joined the Army right out of college and never expected to go back to school again. Honestly, I just wanted to play music and travel. Somewhere along the line I decided to go back to school. Thanks to the Army, I have two additional degrees and three certificates without any debt.
- Hobbies: Now that I am retired from the military, I have more time to pursue my hobbies and interests. I decided to learn to play the oboe and I picked up the clarinet again after a few years of not playing. I play the oboe in a local church group and the clarinet in Commonwealth Winds. I also enjoy spin class (and road biking) as well as hanging out with my rescue Pomeranian and stray cat that I took in after someone in my neighborhood found him.
Joan Rhodes - Department of Teaching and Learning - Army and Army Reserve - jarhodes2@vcu.edu
- I am a proud spouse of an Army retiree who has benefited from the many opportunities my husband's career has provided! I have moved fifteen times and lived in seven states and Germany. My career has centered on education and I have worked for the Department of Defense, DoDEA and many school systems in the United States. I am starting my 20th year at VCU which is the longest our family has been in one location. I am a VCU School of Education alumna!
- Hobbies: In addition to my work at VCU, I love spending time with my grandchildren, traveling, creating needlework and researching my family genealogy.
Warren Dawson - Dean's Office, Finance Department - Army and Army Reserve - wldawson@vcu.edu
- The Army taught me a lot. VCU taught me a lot, but without the PT. The one thing throughout has been a sense of belonging. A community.
- Hobbies: I enjoy reading, writing and arithmetic (I'm an accountant).
Gabriel Reich - Department Of Teaching and Learning - Military Support/Resource - greich@vcu.edu
- As the secondary history and social studies professor, I have had the pleasure of teaching veterans in just about every cohort across my 15 years at VCU. In that work, I have grown to appreciate the life experiences my veteran students bring to the classroom. I have found that those experiences position veterans to elevate the professionalism of their peers and to make unique contributions to class discussions.
- Hobbies: As a high school history teacher, I taught modern world history. My favorite aspect of that course was teaching the Middle East, a major focus of my undergraduate work in history. Since I moved to Virginia, I have focused a lot of my research on popular memories of the U.S. Civil War and the impact of those memories on teaching and politics.
Ross Collin - Department of Teaching and Learning - Military Support/Resource - rcollin@vcu.edu
- I have not served in the military, but I am proud of my family and friends who have. I am married to a medical doctor who has worked for the Veterans Administration for several years.
- Hobbies: I love watching and playing baseball and basketball - I'm from Illinois, so I'm a big Cubs and Bulls fan. Also, I spend a lot of time walking (or being walked by!) my dogs.
Ready To Get Started?
- Jenna Lenhardt, Ph.D.
- Director, Strat Recrt & Outrch
- (804) 827-6847
- SOEinfo@vcu.edu