Mark Bounds , South Carolina's Department of Education

By Jerry Waxler

When Mark Bounds left the U.S. Army, he was the chief of staff at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, with 17,000 people working for him. Wanting to make a difference in young people’s lives, he took a pay cut and went to work at South Carolina’s Department of Education. Today, at age 51, he serves as deputy superintendent for educator quality and leadership, influencing thousands of teachers and 700,000 students.

When Bounds was a young man, he considered entering the teaching profession, but the allure of the army won out. After training at Johns Hopkins, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and began his career as a military leader, assigned to a variety of posts, including platoon leader, executive officer, company commander, battalion commander and deputy chief of staff.

The assignment that made the deepest impression on Bounds was his two-year stint as commander of a basic training battalion, where he was responsible for thousands of young men and women. “They walked in to our unit in every shape and from every socioeconomic background. We had motorheads, gangbangers, jocks. They had all come to the army to change their lives, and it was my job to help them,” Bounds says.

The goal of basic training is to instill fundamental values such as hard work, showing up on time, personal courage and respect for others. Under his command, 10,000 recruits graduated from their former lives into their new ones, and Bounds became electrified by the potential for empowering young people to reach their dreams.

At his 20-year milestone, Bounds had an opportunity to attend senior officer training college, a move that would ensure further advancement. But he thought the place he could make the most impact on young people would be in the educational system. He talked it over with his wife and prayed about it. Eventually, he decided to leave the military and work for South Carolina’s Department of Education.

His first job was to analyze and improve underperforming schools. Initially, a few educators challenged his lack of experience in the school system. He told them, “As a military commander, I had instructors, cafeterias, nurses and buses. We called them different things, but it was very much like being the superintendent of a school district.”

Bounds took a detour for two years to direct Communities in Schools, a nonprofit organization that brings community resources to help kids succeed in school and life. He then returned to the Department of Education to head the Office of School Leadership. Now, as deputy superintendent, he recruits and retains great teachers and provides leadership training for assistant principals, principals and superintendents.

Based on his own rewarding encore career, Bounds recommends career changing for anyone who is looking for a fresh start. In fact, one of the programs in Bounds’ department helps people do just that. Called the Program of Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE), it is considered to be one of the best alternative certification programs in the country, allowing applicants qualified by their work experience and education to start teaching immediately. That means they can earn a paycheck while completing the requirements for full certification.

People from every industry have become teachers through the PACE program, including scientists and engineers who are filling critical shortages in those areas. And there is no upper age range. The oldest participant so far has been 70. “People who start teaching as a second career bring a wide range of expertise and diversity that adds freshness and enthusiasm to the school,” he says.

Bounds’ enthusiasm emanates from life experience. Rather than being trapped by his chaotic childhood, the school system offered him a way out. Now he helps other young people travel the same road. “You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your future,” he says in the inspirational speeches he gives to educators, urging them to provide kids with the same chances he received. Passionate about this second career as an educator, Bounds encourages others to follow his lead, offering hope to anyone who wants to make a difference.

For other alternative certification programs, visit the National Center for Alternative Certification.

Jerry Waxler, M.S., blogs about life story writing on the Memory Writers Network.