On Sept. 11, 2001, I was a young sailor in the U.S. Navy. Less than a month later, my ship changed homeports to San Diego, and our lives moved with it. In 2003, I deployed for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I later served as an Intelligence Specialist in the Navy Reserve.
Today, I live in Brownsville and teach world history at Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville, where my daughter is also a student. Some of what my students read in their textbooks, I lived. When we cover the years after 9/11, I’m not just teaching history; I'm telling them where I was.
This Veterans Day, I’ll be thinking about everyone who has worn the uniform, whether active duty, Reserve, retired or veteran. Memorial Day is for those who never made it home. Veterans Day is for thanking those who served, and I hope my students learn the difference.
Military life shaped me in ways that never wore off. I still can’t show up anywhere without being at least 15 minutes early. The Navy also gave me a phrase sailors use to get through the chaos: , always flexible. You prepare for everything you can, then roll with whatever comes.
That lesson mattered most when it came to my daughter’s education.
My daughter is gifted and neurodivergent. She needs a learning environment built around how she learns, and her traditional classroom wasn’t the right fit. So my wife and I did what military families do. We assessed the situation, weighed our options and made a decision, with our daughter as part of the conversation.
We enrolled her at TVAH, a tuition-free online public school serving students across Texas.
Since switching schools, she has been happier and more comfortable, thanks to flexible classes that let her learn in a way that fits her. Even eating lunch at home, with food she knows and likes, has made a difference.
As a teacher at TVAH, I also see her school from the other side of the screen. Students get live classes with state-certified teachers, the structure of a traditional school, and the room to learn at their own pace.
It isn’t perfect, and I won't pretend it is. My daughter sometimes misses being around other students in person. Every school option has positives and negatives, and families should weigh them honestly.
Our military background shaped the decision in another way. Military families learn to plan for the moment something goes wrong. With a statewide online public school, we know that if life moves us to another part of Texas, our daughter won’t have to change schools and start over. Anyone who has moved as often as military families do knows what that stability is worth. TVAH also has military family liaisons who help military-connected students feel welcome and connected.
Many Texas parents, including military parents, don’t know they have options like this. My advice to any family in the Rio Grande Valley weighing their choices is simple. Do what best supports your child, not what worked for you or what everyone else is doing. Make your child part of the decision, because they're the one who lives it every day. And don't hesitate to ask questions about any school you're considering, traditional or online.
The Navy taught me to prepare for anything. As a dad, I leaned on that lesson to find a school where my daughter can thrive.
Editor's Note: The above guest column was penned by Stefan Burns, a Navy veteran and world history teacher at Texas Virtual Academy at Hallsville, a tuition-free online public school. He lives in Brownsville, and his daughter attends TVAH.
