24 | HR Connection
Overcoming the Struggles Substitute Teachers
Paige TeBeest, Coordinator of Auxiliary Personnel, Amarillo ISD
O
n the flip side of what many districts are seeing in the Panhandle and West Texas areas, Amarillo ISD has seen a consistently high fill rate with our substitutes following the initial lull when the pandemic hit. During the TASPA West Texas Mini-Conference that was recently held in Lubbock, I had a chance to engage in conversations with attendees from Frenship, San Angelo, Ballinger, Burkburnett, Tulia, Hereford, and Plainview ISDs. We discussed fill rates for the districts for the 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22 school years. We also talked about the different opportunities that substitutes have available to them, recruitment efforts, and retention efforts. The districts ranged from fair to excellent fill rates prior to the pandemic, but all had their struggles immediately following
the pandemic. Specifically speaking of Amarillo ISD, we had fill rates in the 80% range prior to the pandemic in the 2019-2020 school year. In the 2020-2021 school year, our fill rates were as low as 52% at one point. We were utilizing personnel from across the district to substitute teach. As a result of several initiatives being implemented, the fill rates have been consistently in the 90% range for the majority of the 2021-22 school year. There are several different types of substitute opportunities across the district. Being a substitute teacher with AISD required 45 college hours up until the Temporary Neighborhood Substitute position was created as a result of the drop in fill rates following the 2019-20 school year. The TemporaryNeighborhood Substitute position requires that an applicant have a high school
diploma or the equivalent. There is a substitute position called Neighborhood Substitute Teacher that was put in place prior to the pandemic for a specific hard to fill high school campus, Palo Duro High School. This was the model for the Temporary Neighborhood Substitute position that allows substitutes with a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent to work across the entire district. AISD has partnerships with our local community college (Amarillo College) and our local universities (West TX A&M University and TX Tech University). Amarillo College Substitutes are required to be enrolled and have 30 completed college hours. WTAMU/TX Tech 2+1 Substitutes are required to be enrolled in the Classroom Management course on the education path with WTAMU and enrolled in the 2+1 program with TX Tech. Both Amarillo College and WTAMU/TX Tech 2+1 Substitutes receive the higher pay rate, equivalent to substitutes with a college degree. The district also has full-time substitute positions on several campuses across the district. These are called Pre-Assigned Substitutes. They work every day and are offered health benefits. Amarillo ISD has participated with several recruitment opportunities. We have met with students at WTAMU, who are enrolled in Classroom Management, and with students at Amarillo College, who are enrolled in Intro to Teaching and/or members of TEACH Club, to present and answer questions about substituting with AISD. These have been very positive and
