substitute teachers

Lack of Protections, Student Misbehavior Challenge Substitutes

Lack of Protections, Student Misbehavior Challenge Substitutes

When Megan Oxland was substitute teaching she felt unprotected and undervalued, she says. Oxland, a Sunapee resident, is a certified teacher who had worked full-time in a classroom in the past, but as a substitute she was paid the same as people with no specialized training. 

"I was getting paid exactly the same as anyone off the street, but my level of education was much higher than many other subs who were working,” she said. “How do you keep your work ethic up when you aren’t getting paid what you’re worth?”

Policy Changes and Workforce Development May Help Address Substitute Shortages

Policy Changes and Workforce Development May Help Address Substitute Shortages

Around the country, schools are getting creative with solutions to address what educators call a chronic shortage of substitute teachers. In New Mexico, the Governor called members of the National Guard into classrooms in 2022. In Oklahoma and North Carolina certain state employees can take paid time off in order to substitute.

Substitute Shortage Strains School Systems

Substitute Shortage Strains School Systems

When Kimberly Bleier or one of her three children wake up not feeling well, Bleier is “instantly in panic mode,” thinking not about their health, but about her students at Concord High School. 

Bleier, who teaches social studies to grades 9 through 12, knows that if she can’t go to school, one of three things will happen. Ideally, a substitute teacher will be called in for the day. But that’s uncertain due to an ongoing substitute teacher shortage. More likely, colleagues will forgo their prep periods to cover her classes. Rarely, if lots of teachers are out, there’s what Bleier calls a “warehouse situation,” where one adult oversees multiple classrooms of students in the cafeteria or another area of the school.