| The
program assists military personnel to make the transition
from the armed services to classroom teacher. |
| "I
haven't had a significant discipline issue since I began,"
Rodi said. "Bozeman High School has good students that
are, for the most part, well behaved." |
| Rodi,
29, grew up in the East, the son of a career Air Force
officer. He went to Tulane University on a Navy scholarship
and graduated with a degree in history. After graduation
he joined the Navy and became a Special Operations Officer. |
| "When
I arrived at my ship I was 22-years-old and the Chief
Engineer gave me a division of 35 guys and said, 'They
report to you.' It's all about perspective. After dealing
with something like that, you have a sense of calm that
you bring to the classroom." |
| A
friendly and engaging teacher, Rodi easily banters with
the speech and debate team students he coaches. |
| "I
enjoy coaching and I love to argue. I'm a political junkie,"
Rodi confesses. |
| He's
also a James Madison Fellow, a program that has steeped
him in the study of the U.S. Constitution. "As a Fellow,
we're charged with weaving the Constitution into our classroom." |
| Rodi
and his wife, Lynette, love Montana and made their decision
to settle here after Lynette watched the movie, "A River
Runs Through It." |
| The
movie prompted them to spend their honeymoon in the Paradise
Valley, near where the movie was filmed. At that time
Rodi had six months remaining on his sea-duty assignment
after spending five years in the Navy. |
| "We
decided we wanted to raise our family here, so I started
looking for a way to stay here." He contacted the MSU
History Department and Rodi was accepted into the graduate
history program. |
| Currently
the couple makes their home with their new baby, Abigail,
in the Paradise Valley just five miles from where they
honeymooned. |
| MSU
introduced the Troops-to-Teachers program in 2001 in an
effort to address the nationwide teacher shortage. The
MSU program, managed by the College of Education, Health
and Human Development (EHHD), is a regional consortium
serving Montana, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota and
Wyoming. It's funded by a grant from the U.S. Department
of Education. The program helps connect individuals with
information, institutions and people that can help them
meet state certification requirements and ultimately find
a teaching position. |
| This
year MSU introduced a companion program, the Northern
Plains Network for Career Transition. |
| The
program is aimed at those who already hold a bachelor's
degree and are looking to make a career transition. Priority
is given to those with degrees in math and science where
the teacher shortage is the most acute. |
| "The
need for teachers over the next decade will continue to
exceed the capacity of higher education to produce," said
Greg Weisenstein, dean of MSU's College of EHHD. |
| Funded
through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education,
the program delivers the necessary certification course
work online for teaching, which leaves individuals free
to pursue the certification process without leaving their
home and a stable income behind to return to campus to
take the necessary course work |
|
. For more information about either the Troops-to-Teachers
program or Transition to Teaching, contact Ian Godwin,
administer of the MSU programs, at (406) 994-7574. |
