Alexis “Lexi” Macanas was ready for a change. Originally from North Carolina, she had joined the military out of high school for financial security and to see the world. She initially served as a police officer, later retraining in religious affairs to help service members and their families who were struggling mentally and spiritually. Eventually, she was tapped to work as a deployment instructor and worked to teach people how to mentally and physically prepare for deployment.

Macanas saw the world during her time in service, serving in Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, North Dakota and New Mexico before being stationed in New Jersey. Shortly thereafter, Macanas had her daughter and decided that maybe it was time to stay closer to home.

“It was hard to be far away from my family,” Macanas says. “I looked at my daughter and realized that I didn’t want to deploy anymore. But who was I outside of uniform?”

Macanas took several career aptitude tests. They pointed her towards counseling, event planning and teaching.

“I was somewhat interested in being a teacher, but I remembered how the other students acted when I was in high school,” Macanas says. “I wasn’t sure I had the patience to be a teacher.”

Operation Socrates

Macanas learned about the U.S. Department of Defense’s SkillBridge program, which helps service members transition to careers outside the military. One program, Operation Socrates, is a pathway for military veterans, active-duty service members and their spouses to transition into careers in K-12 education. It provides guidance, connects people with educational opportunities and focuses on increasing diversity in the teaching profession.

Macanas was connected with Delran Education Association (DEA) President Jason Pope who worked with Delran Superintendent Dr. Lisa Della Vecchia to facilitate Macanas’s classroom experience.

“It was a lengthy process to get all the approvals necessary to bring Alexis into the classroom,” Pope says. “She lived in Delran and was interested in working at the elementary level. We worked with Tracey McGonigle, the vice president of the DEA, and other members to arrange for Alexis to come in on a daily basis before she left the military.”

Macanas was due to leave active duty in early May and move back to North Carolina. Pope took the time to talk to Macanas about the realities of working in education in other states, which can be very different from New Jersey.

Millbridge Elementary

In February 2025, Macanas found herself at Millbridge Elementary School working with several different teachers to get firsthand experience in education. McGonigle was one of the educators with whom Macanas was teamed.

“The first day Lexi arrived in our second-grade classroom, she dove right in,” McGonigle says. “She has superior organization and communications skills, so she immediately adapted to the classroom environment. She quickly built relationships with the students and other staff at Millbridge. Flexible thinking, adaptability, communication skills and the ability to build relationships are key to success in any school and people with military training often have those skills.”

McGonigle loved seeing her students engage with Macanas and learn about life in the military.

“Lexi always responded to questions from the students in a way they could understand. We are about 50 minutes away from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and we have some military families in our community. It was nice to see our students whose parents serve share their experiences about what life is like for military families.”

McGonigle has a special connection to Macanas and other service members. She is the parent of a 10-year active-duty soldier currently serving as an Army staff sergeant.

“I’m grateful that this support is available to service members,” McGonigle says.

Macanas worked with the team in Delran from February through the beginning of May. In addition to working with McGonigle, she also learned from Julia Trost and Madison Otto, who work with special needs students in the district.

“This was a completely different experience from the general education classroom,” Macanas says. “I learned that some days will be more challenging, and I really appreciated the patience and compassion they showed students.”

In Rachel Affrunti’s classroom, Macanas learned about the joys and challenges of working with multilingual learners.

“It was really good for me to see multiple classrooms and different teaching styles,” Macanas says. “All of these teachers had so much love and compassion for the students. I was with the right mentors.”

Macanas is now living near family in North Carolina. She recently had another daughter in December. “At the beginning of the 2025 school year, I was subbing at different schools and different grades. I now have my second daughter and am focused on building daily rhythms with my family and will return to subbing in the later part of this school year to continue exploring what schools and what grades I work with best. I still think second grade is my favorite group of students and I am so grateful for the experience working in Delran.

Learn from the best

“This was an amazing opportunity,” Macanas says. “I got to see the fantastic things New Jersey public schools are doing. I’ve always heard that New Jersey is in the top three best public school systems in the nation, and that’s another reason I wanted to do this internship in New Jersey. I’m glad I got to be with the best and learn from the best.”

Pope and others in the district are hopeful that there will be more opportunities to partner with military service members and hopefully welcome more future educators through the Operation Socrates program.

“This was a great opportunity for our association to work with the board of education and the joint base,” Pope says. “We’d love to do more outreach to the military to partner with them.”

“The only thing that surprised me about this program is that we have not had more Operation Socrates service people in our classrooms,” McGonigle says. “But I am hopeful that this program will grow!”

Advocating for service members

The experience with Macanas has also reaffirmed Pope’s interest in advocating for service members who are now working in education. He has worked to ensure that veterans in education are correctly compensated on the salary guide and to advocate for other service members, including educational support professionals and National Guard members who currently do not benefit from military service credit legislation.

Resources

NJEA Patriots Alliance

In 2017, NJEA created the Patriots Alliance, a coalition of NJEA members who served in the Armed Forces and are now working in public education. The Patriots Alliance currently numbers more than 250 members. It helps to inform veterans of their rights and benefits under the law and advocate for their interests. In addition, members of the Patriots Alliance are available to speak at schools and provide valuable insight into careers in the military. Learn more at njea.org/patriots.

NJEA advocates for veterans

Over the years, NJEA’s political engagement has benefited military veterans. Thanks to NJEA’s vigorous advocacy, certificated New Jersey public school employees who have served in the military receive four years of service credit. This helps boost their pensions and seniority. While this credit currently only exists for certificated staff, NJEA continues to advocate for educational support professionals to receive the same benefits. In December, NJEA members testified before the Legislature. While the bills did not move in the lame duck session, the work continues with the new legislative cycle.