#EastIdahoNews #Substituteteacher
IDAHO FALLS — Almost every school district in eastern Idaho is facing a substitute teacher shortage.
COVID-19, the job market and other factors have schools begging for teacher fill-ins and Karen Bass, who has been substituting for decades, hasn’t seen anything like this before.
“I started substituting in 1989. From the first day of this school year, unless I have taken the day off, I have worked every single day,” Bass tells EastIdahoNews.com.
Bass has taught every grade and every subject. She’s even been a full-time teacher with her own classroom, but substituting is what she prefers.
“I love to teach. I never want my own classroom again as long as I live,” she says. “I don’t have to do grades, I don’t have to bring papers home to grade, I don’t have to do parent-teacher conferences. … I can take time off when I need to, and if I ever get a class that I really don’t like, I don’t have to go back.”
School districts would love to have more substitutes like Bass. Districts have been forced to cancel school because of teacher shortages. Some days there aren’t enough subs to cover teacher absences so other staff members in schools take over classes, principals step in to cover and other teachers will give up their prep hours to fill in.
“Absolutely we need more. If we could add another 20, 30 would be magnificent,” says Idaho Falls School District 91 Assistant Superintendent Kelly Coughenour. “This year has been difficult and a challenge, but it’s also been a very awesome thing to see (staff members) just rally together and make it so our kids can come to school.”
Every school in D91 has its own substitute teacher plan, and just this year, the district increased substitute pay and introduced bonuses, and reimbursement options are now offered for training.
Certified substitute teachers make $12.71 an hour in D91 while those with a bachelor’s degree make $12.50, and subs with a high school degree make $11.88 per hour. Once substitutes put in 40 hours of teaching per month, they receive a $150 bonus, and if they work 80 hours a month, they receive $200.
After learning about the substitute teacher shortage and reporting on school cancelations, I decided to sign up and see what the job is really like.
The process was surprisingly simple. I went on the D91’s website, filled out an application and was called in a few days later for an interview.
The district did a background check, my fingerprints and photo were taken, I watched some instructional videos and completed training online.
Everything took about two hours total, and once I was cleared to teach, my information was entered into a secure website that let me know which classes were available to teach on specific days. I received an email every time a teacher requested a substitute, and there were a lot of options.
I could have easily picked up several assignments immediately, but I decided to go with a first-grade class at Fox Hollow Elementary.
The day before, I sat down with Bass for some advice.
“Be there 15 minutes early so you can look at the teacher’s lesson plans. When you introduce yourself to the kids, tell them you’re going to leave a letter for the teacher, and you really want them to get a good letter so they’ll behave and enjoy yourself,” she told me.
With that, I was ready and – I’ll be honest – a little nervous.
I did not want to distract the kids with a camera in the classroom and promised not to report any identifying names or information about the students or teachers at the school. After all, I was here as a teacher – not a reporter – so I’ll have to tell you about the day rather than show you.
My assignment had me arriving at Fox Hollow by 7:45 a.m. I checked in at the office, and the principal walked me to the classroom, where I was introduced to a neighboring teacher who told me she was there to help if I needed anything.
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