Not surprisingly, classroom teachers get sick from time to time,
and a substitute teacher is needed as a replacement while educators
recuperate.
Morgan Hill – Not surprisingly, classroom teachers get sick from time to time, and a substitute teacher is needed as a replacement while educators recuperate.
But what if the district can’t find an available substitute?
Fortunately, the Morgan Hill School District hasn’t had to face that situation often and though sometimes forced to scramble, a teacher can usually be found for every classroom.
Substitute coordinator Debbie Amaya would like to have more “room to breathe,” and said she would love to talk to anyone who is interested.
Amaya said that while the district doesn’t have a “shortage” of substitutes, more are certainly needed.
Many times, when the district loses a substitute, it is because they’ve decided to become a full-fledged teacher, Totter said.
“We’ve brought a number of them along, some of them who maybe never even thought about education as a career before,” he added, smiling.
Subs make $115 per day for short term work, and $135 for 11 or more days, retroactive to the first day if they start out on a short term assignment that turns long term.
If they work 100 or more days in the school year, substitutes are eligible for the state retirement benefits, STRS, or State Teacher Retirement System.
The district has 11 substitutes registered, but many of those also substitute teachers for other districts. On average, there are 44 substitute teachers working in the district each day. The highest amount last year was 54 on May 25, which was the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend.
There are a handful of long-term substitute teachers, Totter said, adding regular teachers don’t lose their sick days if they don’t use them. The days can accrue towards their retirement, so teachers don’t feel the pressure to use them.
“Many of our teachers make the decision to come to school when maybe they’re not feeling great because they want to save those days, so I think our use of substitutes is certainly not excessive,” he said.
Substitute teacher Michelle Millard said she loves the flexibility of the schedule, as well as the opportunity to be at her children’s school and the ability to be home with them in the afternoon.
“It’s just perfect for me,” she said. “I knew I wanted to go back to work, but wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do. I’m very glad that I made this choice.”
To be a substitute teacher for the district, a candidate needs a bachelor’s degree, but it doesn’t have to be in education. There is a hiring procedure that includes fingerprinting and a test, but, Totter said, Amaya smoothes the path for applicants, walking them through the process.
“I’m sure, in fact, that many of our subs are working because of Debbie,” he said.
Millard said she had a special experience on her first day in the classroom. She was in a sixth-grade class, and was tempted to tell the students it was her first day, but she had been warned by other teachers not to tell the class. At the end of the day, she had had such a good day with the class that she couldn’t resist telling them. The reaction was special, she said, and she even received two thank-you notes.
Because of her time in the classroom, Millard said, she has a newfound respect for teachers.
“I’m just impressed with how much they have to do and how well they do it,” she said. “I guess I just didn’t realize before because they made it look easy. But there is a lot of work involved.”
When she comes in to substitute at El Toro Elementary, where her children and in third and fifth grades, she said she always finds a very well-prepared plan for the day.
“Learning doesn’t stop just because there’s a sub in the class,” she said. “Those teachers work hard to make sure the day is as productive for students as it can be.”
Totter said the role of the substitute has changed over the years, emerging from a glorified babysitter, in many cases, to an effective stand-in for the teacher, who comes back to find his or her students prepared to move ahead.
“We only have 180 days (in the school year),” he said. “We can’t afford to lose a day of instruction.”
For more information about becoming a substitute, contact Debbie Amaya at 201-6020.
