Substitute Teachers In Short Supply More Training For Teachers Creates Greater Need For Replacements

Joanne Thomason’s phone rarely stops ringing.

But Thomason handles the challenge, making sure every classroom in Coeur d’Alene has a teacher.

As the Coeur d’Alene School District’s substitute teacher coordinator, Thomason spends seven hours on the phone each day and some weekend time hooking up absent teachers with replacements.

“Hello everyone this is Joanne,” says a voice message that greets teachers who can’t make it to class.

With new demands for increased teacher training, finding substitute teachers is becoming more of a challenge for North Idaho schools, especially in specialty areas such as special education, Spanish, music and advanced math.

Ten years ago, teachers only missed class for illness or family deaths.

With new technology, improved curriculum and reading initiatives, however, teachers are required to spend more time in training. And that means fewer hours in the classroom and a new demand for substitute teachers.

“I’m not panicked yet,” said Kelly Ostrom, Coeur d’Alene schools human resources director.

But the time is coming.

To attract more substitutes, school districts have lowered hiring requirements.

In the 1980s, substitutes in Coeur d’Alene schools had to have teaching certificates. Now the district hires people with bachelor’s degrees or specific training in areas such as art and music.

In the Lake Pend Oreille School District, substitutes must have graduated high school, although people with teaching certificates and college degrees are hired first and get paid more.

Training for substitutes is minimal, usually consisting of handouts on classroom management techniques.

Most districts want to beef up training, but the time and money aren’t available. Even without thorough training, districts feel they hire qualified substitutes who do more educational good than just supervision.

Coeur d’Alene schools offer substitutes a summer seminar on classroom management and Sandpoint schools encourage substitutes to spend a day in a classroom observing an experienced teacher.

Most districts realize substitute pay isn’t a huge incentive.

Coeur d’Alene and Sandpoint districts pay substitutes $60 a day, while substitutes in Post Falls get $65 and $68 in the Lakeland District.

To get a substitute teaching job, people must first pay $46.50 for fingerprinting and criminal background checks.

Idaho doesn’t keep track of how many substitutes work in the public school system, but since 1996 about 7,440 people have applied for criminal background checks.

Most supervisors say substitutes work for the experience, flexible hours or to spend time with children.

Jennifer Smart, 23, is substitute teaching in Coeur d’Alene schools as an experiment.

“This is sort of a little test,” Smart said after spending the day with Bryan Elementary first-graders.

While at Western Washington University, Smart planned to get a teaching certificate but instead graduated in psychology.

It surprised her that she could substitute without teaching credentials. But Smart minored in Spanish, which makes her valuable to the district.

She happily signed on in September to give the teaching profession a whirl.

And the schools keep Smart busy, placing her in the classroom three to five times a week.

Although it’s rare for Thomason to exhaust her 120-name substitute list, it does happen.

“One day I counted my voice mail messages and I had over 50,” Thomason said, adding that schools are good at filling vacancies internally if a substitute isn’t available. Often principals or counselors fill in during a shortage.

And it happens in other area districts too.

“Our district has been discussing this issue for the last year trying to think of ways to provide in-service so it’s not disruptive,” said Diane Rayfield, Lake Pend Oreille District’s human resources manager.

Of the 800 teacher absences in Sandpoint schools since October, 31 percent have been for in-service or professional development, Rayfield said.

Teachers must now consult a districtwide calendar before taking days off for training. Rayfield says that has helped some.

Restricting training sessions to after school, weekends and summer is another option.

The idea is attractive to school districts because it costs the same to pay teachers to stay after school as it does to hire substitutes.

But with educators who already feel overworked, the idea is unpopular.

“It’s work beyond and they don’t have as much energy,” Coeur d’Alene Superintendent David Rawls said. “Besides, we can’t require them to be there (after school).”

Despite the unpopularity, the Lakeland School District holds almost all staff training during nonschool hours.

“It can be a drain at times for them, sure,” Assistant Superintendent Ron Schmidt said.

But he added that most teachers are willing to put in the extra hours because it means college credits and higher pay. He said he has heard few complaints.

Idaho teachers are required to earn six semester credits every five years to recertify their teaching certificates. The more credits teachers earn, the faster they move up the salary scale.

The state also allows districts to include four in-service days out of the 190 teaching days.

But with all the new educational demands on teachers, the hours needed to learn these skills exceed the state allowances. This means teachers are using class time.

Besides learning how to use technology in the classroom, teachers are working with districts to make sure students are learning what they need to in order to pass state achievement standards. Idaho will begin testing students in 2005.

Educators also participate in workshops ranging from school safety to the latest teaching trends in math, science and reading.

“It’s neat to see how much training is going on in the districts,” Rayfield said.

Most districts agree it is important for teachers to expand their knowledge and reject the idea that students suffer from the occasional absences.

“We encourage staff development as a district,” Ostrom said. “It’s important for teachers to stay up on the most current techniques and balance that with being in the classroom.”