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Bill Mimiaga, a former Marine drill sergeant, says it was "easy" to transition from training new recruits to teaching children.

A retired Marine Corps major who now teaches in San Diego is featured on CBS-2 in Los Angeles as an example of the growing trend of retiring boomers who are launching second careers as teachers.

In the TV news story, Major Bill Mimiaga is shown teaching special education students at Stevens Middle School in Long Beach. The decorated combat veteran transitioned to the classroom through a federal program called “Troops to Teachers” and was named the organization’s “Teacher of the Year” for 2006.

The CBS reporter narrating the story, Cater Lee, pointed out that a similar program at the state level called Encorps for Teachers was recently launched to interest boomers in becoming math and science teachers in California schools. The deadline for applications for those who want to begin teaching this fall is March 15.

Encorps for Teachers is the result of a public-private partnership supported by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is headed by Sherry Lansing, former chair of Paramount Pictures.

The CBS-2 story notes that there are currently about 60 million Americans who are 55 and older, a number expected to grow to 107 million by 2030. Programs such as Troops for Teachers and Encorps for Teachers are hoping to channel boomers into jobs that help local communities.

Mimiaga says in the TV clip that it was an “easy transition” for him from training new recruits to teaching children. “I treat them with dignity and respect and, at the same time, discipline,” he explains.