DeSantis announces strategy to recruit servicemembers for school teaching positions

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference at River Ridge High School in New Port Richey, Florida on August 16 to announce the state's strategy to enhance school education by recruiting retired servicemembers as teachers.

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The proposals include a recruitment initiative targeted to bring retired first responders and retired veterans to the classroom through fee waivers and bonuses; an apprenticeship program that provides bonuses to teachers for mentoring aspiring teachers with an associate’s degree to gain hands-on teaching experience; and a scholarship program for K-12 teachers interested in teaching dual enrollment courses on high school campuses.

“These three initiatives will build on our efforts to increase recruitment and retention of high quality teachers. Great teachers don’t become great teachers because they are sitting in a university lecture hall. What makes a teacher great is being in the classroom, watching other teachers, and seeing what works,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Members of the police department, military, EMS, and firefighters are encouraged under this strategy to teach children at schools in the state and will be given a financial bonus by doing so.

Gov. DeSantis also put an emphasis on workforce education. He mentioned how some approaches to university might not be the best option for some people.

“When you're going down a university pathway and you go $100,000 in debt like many students have, then you end up with a degree that's not worth the paper it's printed on, that's not a good investment. That's a millstone around your neck where you end up at a job you could get out of high school anyways,” stated the governor.

Gov. DeSantis also discussed how the state is combatting the woke ideology that's appearing all throughout the world.

“We've taken on ESG. Obviously in the classroom we've battled a lot of ideologies. But what I've said is that the state of Florida is the place where woke goes to die. We're not going to let this state descend into some type of woke dumpster-fire. We're going to be following common sense,” stated DeSantis. “We're going to be following facts.”

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