Solving the Substitute Shortage, Part 1: Four Rules to Keep Your Best Subs Coming Back
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Between kindergarten and high school graduation, the average student will spend 187 days — more than one full school year — with substitute teachers. Learn what schools can do to guarantee the highest quality education possible in the absence of the permanent classroom teacher. Included: Four rules to help keep your best subs coming back and tips for recognizing the contributions of your school’s substitutes!
Each day during the school year, about 274,000 classrooms in this country are staffed by substitute teachers, according to figures provided by the Substitute Teaching Institute(STI) at Utah State University. No one knows, however, how many additional classrooms remain largely unstaffed — with students forced to double up or settle for little more than supervised study halls manned by school resource teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, or even parent volunteers.
The fact is that school districts across the country are facing an increased demand for substitute services, while at the same time they are dealing with a serious shortage of substitute teachers — a shortage fueled in part by the actions and attitudes of the teachers and administrators most in need of their help.
Between kindergarten and high school graduation, the average student will spend 187 days — more than one full school year — with substitute teachers. Yet according to the 1998 Survey & Analysis of Teacher Salary Trends, conducted by the American Federation of Teachers, 90 percent of state departments of education reported “some” or “great” difficulty meeting the demand for qualified subs. A combination of factors has created the crisis, including a high number of teacher absences due to an increase in released time for personal and professional development, a booming economy in which temporary workers can easily make more than the average of $10 an hour paid to substitute teachers, and the growing shortage of permanent teachers that has allowed many former subs to move into full time positions.
Many districts have responded to the crisis by recruiting vigorously or offering such incentives as higher pay, signing bonuses, and guaranteed employment. Those strategies might have helped, but they have not solved the problem — perhaps because they failed to address the problem.
According to Max Longhurst, an education specialist at STI, when it comes to attracting and retaining quality substitute teachers, money is seldom the primary issue. Longhurst told Education World, “The number one and two reasons substitutes cite for leaving teaching are (1) a lack of respect shown by school personnel and (2) a lack of training in classroom management techniques.”
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