JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A local university is now enrolling military veterans who want to combat Florida's teacher shortage.
If you're a veteran and want a graduate-level teaching certificate, you can enroll in a new program at the University of North Florida. The program was created due to a new law allowing veterans to teach without degrees in order to fill teacher vacancies.
The Florida Department of Education's Military Veterans Certification Pathway allows veterans to earn temporary teaching certificates.
An important thing to know is the UNF program you can enroll in now is for veterans who have bachelor's degrees and that degree can be in anything. It's a graduate program.
A program UNF is hoping to have ready for people to enroll in by next year is for veterans who want to teach but don't have degrees. It's a certification program.
Christian Winterbottom runs the program at UNF and is the interim chair of the Department of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum. Here he describes how the certification program will work.
"If we could create this certificate where they would take courses, such as creating lesson plans and how to assess and classroom management, which is pretty important these days, then they would take the certificate, it would be five courses, and then they would continue. So we would immediately give them information that they would need and then they can continue with that bachelor's degree program here."
Winterbottom says the goal is to make sure the veterans and students are successful.
"Tapping into veterans who already have this world knowledge, that will be perfect for our students to learn from veterans who have been out in the world," Winterbottom said.
Joseph Diaz is a middle school teacher and a Marine Corps veteran. He describes his teaching career as serving his country in a different way.
"If you are looking for that transition period once you get out of your military service and looking for somewhere to be more effective or to continue on with service, you can go straight into the classroom," Diaz said.
Diaz says he uses skills from the military, such as discipline and the ability to adjust quickly to different situations, in his teaching career.
A Duval County Public Schools spokesperson says they currently do not have any veteran teachers from programs due to the new law.
Learn more about UNF's Veterans to Teachers Program here.
Learn more about the Florida Department of Education's Military Veterans Certification Pathway here.