Troops to Teachers

Jamaal Abdul-Alim:

The military features prominently in Room 412 of the Milwaukee Education Center - a special education classroom that contains some of the school's most challenging students.

A U.S. Marine flag hangs just beneath the American flag. War books are propped up on a blackboard tray.

The teacher at the front of the class is Stan Loper, 44, a beefy, clean-shaven former U.S. Marine who is built like a tank. He begins the school day in a manner not much different from what you might expect from a drill sergeant, telling his students to use "nice and loud outside voices" as they recite their daily affirmation as members of "Club FAITH" - an acronym for Friendly, Able, Intelligent, Talented and Helpful.

"Who are we?" Loper yells.

"Club FAITH!" the students yell back.

Loper found his way into the classroom through Troops to Teachers, a U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored program that, among other things, offers up to $10,000 to get service members, both active and retired, to serve as teachers in the nation's neediest schools. About 80 teachers around Wisconsin got their start in the program, which began in 1994.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 7, 2007 12:09 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas