CIBOLO, Texas — Down the halls of Schlather Intermediate School are the Edward Jones and Kip Coulter, two teachers who embarked on rather untraditional journeys to becoming educators.
“I trained everyone from basic trainees at Lackland Air Force Base all the way up to the White House military office,” Jones said, who served more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force.
“I joined the military as a cook. I spent four years in the Army,” Coulter said.
Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD welcomed Jones and Coulter through different avenues.
Jones retired from the military and aspired to become an educator, so he got his foot in the door by becoming a school bus driver.
He steered his way toward a career in education by working as a paraprofessional coach and long-term substitute teacher all while enrolled in an accelerated teacher certification course.
Jones now teaches sixth grade social studies, utilizing many of the skills he learned as a military instructor, although adjusted for the classroom. He also credits his time driving around school children for influencing his teaching style.
“I say this all the time, I learned more about classroom management as a school bus driver than I ever did in a college course,” Jones said.
Coulter’s path to joining the SCUC ISD family began at Cibolo Valley Elementary where he mopped floors and cleaned classrooms as a custodian.
He also worked at the district’s warehouse while balancing life as a father and husband. Coulter’s nights would be spent taking online classes to quicken his road to becoming a certified teacher.
“My wife was really the one who pushed me toward this year because she always saw the good relationships I had with the students at the elementary level,” Coulter said.
Edward Jones and Kip Coulter are not only helping address the teacher shortage, they’re helping shape the lives of hundreds of students for years to come.
“I love math, I love science and social studies. I love all those subjects. So it’s just about being able to share that passion and helping them grow,” Coulter said.
“My hopes for the future rests with these kids today. They are the future and happy to be a part of it,” Jones said.