The Roanoker July/August 2023 - 78

Education
h
with the division's licensure specialist who made her
aware of the program.
It took Holland a year to complete the program. " I
learned a lot. I feel it was great preparation, " she says.
She just completed her second year of teaching at
the middle school.
Roanoke City Public Schools on the other hand
draws in more career switchers. It has four individuals
who completed the program and started teaching
during the 2022-23 school year and nine who are
currently in the program and have been hired by the
division.
" The teaching colleges have declined in enrollment,
so we're having some difficulty filling certain positions, "
Angela Wimberly, director of recruitment and
retention for the division, says.
The career switcher program has been a vital tool
for helping her get teachers into classrooms, especially
in hard to fill positions like math and science.
" It has allowed us to have people who were not in
the education field, but they want to make an impact
and always wanted to be a teacher, " she says. " A lot
of them are Roanoke natives and are invested in our
city. They want to make an impact. This program has
allowed them to do that. "
Aside from simply filling positions, the program
supplies the division with teachers who can bring
new perspectives to the classroom. " They can enrich
our learning environments and attract students to the
profession they were recently in, " Wimberly says. " It
diversifies our teacher workforce so that students can
see teachers that look like them. "
Bristol, Tennessee, native John Turnbull landed his
first teaching job in mathematics at James Madison
Middle School two school years ago after previously
working in ministry.
" I've always thought about being a teacher, but
ended up going another path, " he says regarding the
master's in religion he received.
It was while working as a youth director at a
Lexington church that he started considering
EducateVA. The idea of going into education also
made sense given that his wife, who he married in
2017 and moved to Roanoke with, had become a
school counselor at Breckinridge Middle School.
By the time he pursued the program, he was working
as a contractor salesman at Ideal Building Supply.
He maintained his job while preparing to become a
teacher. " The biggest thing for me was how affordable
it was, " he says.
After a semester of classes and a week of classroom
experience, he was eligible to be hired as a teacher
with a provisional license.
" The big thing I learned was managing my time
and juggling so many things at once. The rigor of it,
the assignments we had to do on top of working a
full-time job, was what prepared me best for what I
do now, " he says.
Now two years into being an educator, Turnbull
says he's extremely happy with his decision to change
careers. " It's been very rewarding, " he stresses.
Sammy Foster, a Roanoke Valley resident for most
of his life, has consistently been around the education
field. Both his father and wife are educators. After
graduating from Bryan College in Tennessee with a
mathematics degree, he went to work for Botetourt's
school division in IT. He later worked at Virginia
Tech in a similar capacity. It was there that he decided
to finally pursue a career in the classroom.
At first, he thought he would have to pursue his
master's to teach. However, he discovered EducateVA.
As a numbers person, a data analysis class he took
resonated with him. " Being able to look at how we
can use data in the classroom to improve student
78 JULY/AUGUST 2023
TheRoanoker.com
COURTESY OF SAMMY FOSTER / COURTESY OF CLARA HOLLAND
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The Roanoker July/August 2023

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