Fort Jackson is not the only part of the U.S. military that is celebrating its anniversary this year. The Department of Defense Educational Activity is in the midst of its 70th anniversary and celebrated American Education Week Nov. 14-18.
"DODEA's long record of providing outstanding education for students is due to those who work with students every day," said Dr. Kerrie Ammons, a speech pathologist with C.C. Pinckney Elementary School on post.
As part of American Education Week, which occurs each year the week before Thanksgiving, educators and staff at C.C. Pinckney, sat down with the Leader to discuss how special the military education system is and why the field became their calling.
Lisa Reed, fourth grade teacher and district teacher of the year
"I had teachers who you kind of aspired to be, the ones who filled you with the passion to learn and show their children, their students that they cared about them. I wanted to be that teacher for my students. Two, when I met my husband, who is the military, and I started to think about all these children who are so transient and wanted to find some way that I could impact their lives for only a little while."
Being married to a Service member "kind of puts me on the same level as them. It makes it easier for them to connect with me, and me to them, because they know I am in the same with them."
Claudine Cavallo, school registrar with more than 20 years in education.
"I got started in education for a variety of reasons. My husband was active duty Marine Corps so it was a very easy profession to shift with his change of duty stations. Both of my children growing up were special needs so I was very interested in how the education process works for them. My education background is psychology and social work."
"I have been with DODEA for an agency for almost seven years, and I've also been within the county system and I can tell you that being here it is very different. There is not only a feeling of caring from the teachers but from the support staff making sure they get everything they need. That is very special"
Macie Fitzgerald, sixth grade teacher
Military education allows teachers to become closer to their students.
"I've been to my former students' high school, college, weddings and child births -- I am still in touch with my students. I recently went to a former student's wedding in Washington, D.C., whose father was a brigade commander or battalion commander when she was in fourth grade. It's such a small community that everyone just keeps in touch."
Since she started working at Pinckney Fitzgerald is the "only one left. I used to be the baby. The staff didn't change much during that time, they didn't hire military spouses, but after a while people started retiring and they began to hire new people."
Kimberly Dana, Resource teacher
"I spent 15 years working in higher education and then did a career change to teach special education. This will be my seventh year teaching special education. I have taught high school, middle school, and now elementary."
"I love inspiring people and making a positive experience. I'm a true optimist and found that while working with special education students they often struggle with low self-esteem. What I like about working with younger kids is they haven't gotten there yet. So if I can make positive difference to the younger kids and inspiring them to be the best they can be. It's like 'yes, you can be a good reader. Yes, you can learn math, and yes, you can control your emotions and your behaviors.' I get to inspire that in them every day and all they want to do is give me hugs all the time. This is great."
Reginald Clement, in-service director for the cafeteria
"We are here for the kids and that's the main thing I tell my staff. Food service is very important and child nutrition is important so we try to make sure they get a healthy meal for breakfast and not only lunch."
Tommy Williams, motor vehicle operator
Working in education is important because "you see the kids when they are smaller and you see how much they are changing. Some kids are a little bit more loving, while some can be a little more selfish. I'm lucky because in my job, I'm not only a motor vehicle operator but also the head monitor in the cafeteria at lunchtime. If the kids can't talk to their teacher they talk to me."
Patty Cleveland, second grade teacher
"Military school communities can be more supportive (than civilian schools) because everybody seems to really care about these kids. We all know they have a different life than their civilian counterparts do. We all know we have to support the Families in different ways."
Patricia Walters, fifth grade teacher
I became interested in education "all because of my first grade teacher. She had such a great impact on my life that I said when I grow up I am going to be a teacher just like her."
"There is a closer connection (to the children) here having been a military spouse and having my children going through a military school."
Paula Favors, third grade teacher
"I joined the education field for my love of children. It was not my first decision (after getting out of the Air Force). My first decision was to be an attorney, but I had an epiphany because everything I did when I got out of the military was centered on children. It's like, 'no, that's not your path right now, you're path is with the children.' And I haven't looked back."
"Our children here at C.C. Pinckney go through a lot. I mean they are here, then they are gone; sometimes they come back, and sometimes they don't. So we get that one moment in time to touch their lives forever. When they leave here hopefully they remember us and remember some things we have taught them."
Felicia Schneider, educational aide
"When I was 15 my very first job was working at the YMCA Summer Camp and I just fell in love with working with kids. I kind of kept working with kids until I fell into this profession."
"The majority C.C. Pinckney is special is the kids. I am an Army brat myself so I always feel a connection to other kids who have parents in the military.
Teresa Avery, C.C. Pinckney school counselor
"When my son was born I said, 'OK, what can I do, that I will be home when he's home?' That was working with the school. He was the most important thing, so I went back to school to become a teacher."
"The people here are so friendly -- it's like a Family. Everybody has each other's back and we are just here to help everybody."
Domingo Rodriguez, school custodian
"It has been a great experience. They always say, 'America is the melting pot' and you can apply the same thing here. When you see the background of the kids and the background of the teachers you see they have different (background) -- so everything melts in here. You have so many different ways to learn here. They learn from everyone because they think, they listen, they talk and they see. When they do those four things they see the big picture."
Alan Danahy, Kindergarten through sixth grade music
"I'm coming from a non-military background so it's been sort of a learning curve for me, but I really appreciate the military and our military connected students. If you really think about it, music plays a really big part of the military, whether it be ceremonies and graduations. We have the 282nd Army Band here on post and those opportunities, for example having the Army band come to the school and work with the kids, open gateways to getting kids involved and more inspired to learn about music."
Audrey Griffin, C.C. Pinckney principal
"I originally was going to be an X-ray technician, but when I got into college I changed my major because I really wanted to be around children. When my son started going to school, I started volunteering and that told me this was my calling."
"Teaching military children is special because first off, I can identify with it. I lived that life. I wanted to make sure that I passed on to those children what my son was experiencing too. With my husband being military, we made sure we were parents and grandparents of those military children because we know what they are living."
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