Teacher and US Air Force veteran Darrell Jones as seen on his tour of duty in Kirkuk, Iraq, in 2006. 

On one special day in November, the entire country pauses to express appreciation to our nation’s heroic veterans for all they have done, including laying their lives on the line, to protect our American freedoms. One such veteran is Darrell Jones, a middle school history teacher in Mississippi.

As a younger man, Darrell served in the United States Air Force for 20 years. On active duty from 1991 to 2011, he was deployed over two dozen times, including stints in war-torn Iraq. During his years of service, the now-retired Technical Sergeant worked as a crew chief and as an aircraft mechanic.

Darrell grew up in Buffalo, New York. After he graduated high school in 1988, he enrolled in college, where he completed three years of study. He interrupted his studies to join the military, but once he retired from the Air Force in 2011, he used his GI benefits to complete his degree. He earned his Bachelor’s in Secondary Education from Mississippi State University in 2014.

This valiant veteran now works as a 7th grade history teacher at Armstrong Middle School in Starkville, Mississippi. “People ask me all the time why I became a teacher after working hard in the military for 20 years,” says Darrell. “I say…I want to continue to serve my country and take care of our children.” He is as dedicated to his work with students as he was to his work in the military. “My goal is to show my students the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day, without taking the joy away from the holiday,” asserts Darrell. “I want them to remember we can honor those who have given their lives for our country and appreciate what they have done while also cherishing the fact that we get to spend the day with friends and family.”

Here is the American hero and Chalkboard Champion with some of his kids. Thank you for all your service, Darrell!

Teacher and US Air Force veteran Darrell Jones here with some of his students.

Educator and US Army veteran Brian Thompson of Washington, DC

There are many heroic servicemen and women who are now serving our students in classrooms. One of these is Brian Thompson, a high school social studies educator from Washington, DC.

Brian earned his Bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication and Rhetoric from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. He completed the requirements for his Master’s degree in Secondary Education and Teaching from American University in 2011.

But before he became a teacher, Brian was a member of the US Army. During his sting as a serviceman, he was stationed for 13 months along the Afghanistan/Pakistan border in 2007 and 2008. While there, he was in charge of a mortar squad with the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. As the story goes, one day Brian received a care package from his mother. Inside was a paperback copy of Teacher Man, the third in a series of memoirs by Frank McCourt, author of Angela’s Ashes. “You would make a terrific teacher, just like Mr. McCourt,” Brian’s mother wrote inside the book, “Especially making kids laugh with that sarcastic humor.”

Since 2009, Brian has taught history at Cardozo High School in Washington, DC. Cardozo is a combined middle and high school in northwest Washington, DC, in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. He taught there five years.

In 2014, Brian was hired as a leader of the Military Affairs Team at the US Department of Education. There he works as an advocate for service members, military-connected students, veterans, and their families. He coordinates the Department’s internal and external efforts to address their needs and fosters access to high-quality and affordable educational programs and services.

Brian Thompson: a true Chalkboard Champion.