TROOPS TO TEACHERS EVENT IS NOV. 11

The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a Veterans' Day teacher recognition event to recognize outstanding participants in the Troops To Teachers program, of which Old Dominion University is the executive agent for Virginia.

School district supervisors, award recipients' school principals, and representatives of military and education communities will be among the invited guests at the awards luncheon to be held at the Founder's Inn in Virginia Beach on Thursday, Nov. 11. The Virginia Association of School Personnel Administrators will assist in selecting award recipients.

Virginia TTT Program Manager Mike Melo, special assistant on terrorism in ODU's Office of Research, said, "We really appreciate this special recognition from the Chamber and community leaders. There are more than 200 TTT teachers in the Hampton Roads area. The reports I receive from school administrators indicate that they do a great job, every day, and they are helping fill critical needs in math, science, and special ed in high need schools across the region. This is the same kind of performance we see from troops across the country."

Each of the 17 school districts in the area will be asked to select one TTT teacher for special recognition based on their ability to impact student achievement. Three of the 17 selected teachers -- one each at the elementary, middle, and high school levels -- will also receive the TTT Excellence in Teaching Award.

Based on expressions of interest from community leaders in other parts of the country, additional regional recognition events may take place in the months ahead.

The Troops to Teachers program started in 1994 as a Department of Defense program to help transition to the teaching profession active-duty military personnel whose careers were cut short by the draw-down of the 1990s. By the end of Fiscal Year 1999, TTT had helped more than 3,000 veterans begin new careers as teachers.