Aurora – Navy Chief Petty Officer David Olsen was onboard a ship in the Red Sea that fired a Tomahawk missile that bombed Baghdad during the Persian Gulf War.
Army Col. Thomas Duffy dodged bullets in the Middle East as he taught Afghanistan officers there how to execute plans and strategies.
Come the fall semester of 2008, the two will be in the classroom, teaching students in Aurora Public Schools.
The two are taking part in the Troops to Teachers program, in which retired military personnel become teachers.
Duffy and Olsen haven’t retired yet. But they have committed to joining Aurora schools, through the hire-in-advance program, a first for districts in the Denver area, officials said.
Between now and the time they hit the classroom, the two will get training at Metro State College and receive alternative teaching certificates.
“This is something that I am even more motivated to do than the Army,” said the 47-year-old Duffy, who is based at Northern Command in Colorado Springs. “I want to teach the students new concepts and share the experiences that I have had.”
Aurora schools Superintendent John Barry, a retired two- star Air Force general, hopes to fill about 50 teaching positions in math, science and special education with retired military personnel. While there are three already in classrooms now, he hopes to get the others to commit to “letters of intent” to join the district.
The idea is to get more diversity in the schools and to balance the female-to-male teacher ratio, which now is about 75 percent female. In the program, the would-be teachers receive stipends to help them pay for classes to get certified and, in some cases, degrees in their areas.
While teaching would pay them less than most could receive after retiring, Olsen said it isn’t about the money.
“Some of the greatest influences in my life have been teachers,” said Olsen, 37, who is based out of Buckley Air Force Base. “It’s about making a difference.”
Olsen, Duffy and Chris Vann, who went through the program and is now the dean of students at Aurora Central High School, believe their structure in the military and their experiences throughout the world make them good teachers.
“You have stories for every situation,” Vann said. “Student- teachers straight out of college don’t have those stories yet.”
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
