School Staffing Shortages

from Issue 2 - November 2021

Coffee Reliance (a comic

How the pandemic created a shortage of teachers.

CAROLINE CHENG

writer

The pandemic has made the challenges of school staffing shortages more significant than ever, forcing schools to plan how to overcome the long-lasting impacts. In one survey of 2,690 members of the National Education Association, 32% said the pandemic prompted teachers to plan to leave the profession earlier than expected. Consequently, schools are trying to fill in these spots with substitute teachers, but there is a shortage of them as well.

Staff Directory 2021-2022

In the Cupertino Union School District (CUSD), a shortage of substitutes means that certificated school administrators or district staff are subbing when there are no substitutes to cover teachers’ classrooms. These last minute substituting shifts make it challenging for administrators to complete their daily tasks as well. Nonetheless, the district’s students have always been able to attend school with a qualified staff member or substitute when their teacher is away. “Our first priority is always ensuring that students have teachers in the classroom, to support them and to have learning continue, even when their teacher is out,” said Erin Lindsey, the Director of Communications for CUSD. Even before the pandemic, CUSD and other school districts were already seeing a decrease in the number of available substitutes. According to the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, California has faced declining numbers of new substitute

teachers every year. In 2020-21, it issued about 47,000 substitute teaching permits compared to the 64,000 issued in the 2018-19 school year. In the meantime, Cupertino High School, part of the Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD), has also relied on other staff members to cover “MONEY WILL NOT BE THE ONLY SOLUTION TO THE HIGH DEMAND OF SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS for teachers even before the pandemic, so for some teachers, substituting for others is rather normal. “It’s pretty common, I think, in our district to first reach out internally, to see if IF THERE ARE INSUFFICIENT RESOURCES.” there are other teachers who can cover your period, because a lot of times a teacher might be last minute absent, and it’s just one period they’re going to miss. [...] And that’s just more standard practice, because it’s easier to find coverage,” said Laurie Lucatero, Spanish teacher at Cupertino High School. Despite the necessary change in their plans to take immediate action to substitute for a class, many teachers at Cupertino High School are flexible and willing to support each other. Teachers have also

tried to prepare more student independent substitute plans to lessen the impacts of the needed shifts in the covering teacher’s schedule.

“I’ve noticed that, at least at our site, people are willing to step up to [take immediate action to cover for a class] and help each other out. But it does change your plans if you planned to grade or plan,” said Lucatero.

Additionally, throughout the pandemic, adapting to and transitioning between distance learning, hybrid learning and re-opening have brought new challenges for teachers. A survey by the RAND Corporation found that the pandemic caused teachers to experience higher levels of burnout and that they were more likely to leave their job than prior to the pandemic.

“All of those things factor into the stress and strain on a teacher’s shoulders, so we definitely are trying to support them the best we can,” said Lindsey. Nonetheless, CUSD and FUHSD are not seeing a significant amount of teachers leaving their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

Said Lucatero, “I also feel like I was really supported by both the district and on site. [...] And while, inevitably, that is a very difficult transition, there was support in our district, which is really helpful, and I think it is helping to keep teachers here.”

In addition to full-time teachers, the pandemic has also affected the availability of substitute teachers. Many districts rely on retired teachers as substitutes, but some do not feel comfortable subbing due to the risks of returning to the classroom during a pandemic.

Said Lindsey, “Just with the pandemic, things are changing across the board, in terms of what people are doing or what they’re doing for work, and so that also is impacting substi tute teachers.”

In hopes of attracting more substitute teachers, many school districts are incorporating incentives. During the pandemic, CUSD raised the substitute teacher pay to $185 daily — equivalent to the rate for long term substitutes — for a group who agreed to be trained for distance teaching. However, prospective substitutes must have a bachelor’s degree and meet reading, writing and math requirements by providing standardized test scores or B’s or better in college-level courses in order to obtain a substituting credential, so money will not be the only solution to the high demand of substitute teachers if there are insufficient resources.

“[The school sites] did send out a recent call for substitute teachers, [and] we have increased our daily substitute rate to possibly help as well. But we can’t change what’s required to be a substitute. [...] There’s certain state qualifications that are put in place that we can’t change,” said Lindsey.

CUSD is encouraging more members of the community to apply. The district actively promotes substitute teaching as a flexible schedule that comes with many opportunities. Said Lindsey, “[We speak] to the joy that a substitute teacher can bring, and what you also get as a substitute; those are really positive interactions of being on a school site and interacting with students”