Substitute Teachers

Craig McVay, superintendent of El Reno Public Schools in El Reno, Okla., pictured on Jan. 27, 2022.
Craig McVay, superintendent of El Reno Public Schools in El Reno, Okla., pictured on Jan. 27, 2022.
Brett Deering for Education Week
School & District Management In Their Own Words Awake at 2 A.M., Agonizing Over Life-and-Death Decisions: A Superintendent's Story
Daily, high-stakes judgment calls on COVID weigh heavy on a superintendent's mind.
Catherine Gewertz, January 31, 2022
•
4 min read
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at a news conference in Santa Fe, N.M., on July 29, 2021. When New Mexico lawmakers meet on Jan. 18 to hash out the state budget, about half of the money will go to K-12 school programs.. Grisham and key legislative committees have agreed to increase spending on schools by around 12%, or around $3.8 billion.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham speaks at a news conference in Santa Fe, N.M., on July 29, 2021. When New Mexico lawmakers meet on Jan. 18 to hash out the state budget, about half of the money will go to K-12 school programs.. Grisham and key legislative committees have agreed to increase spending on schools by around 12%, or around $3.8 billion.
Morgan Lee/AP
Recruitment & Retention Governor Substitutes at Elementary School Amid Chronic Staff Shortages
The omicron variant has ravaged New Mexico schools, leaving a wave of staff and student absences.
Jessica Pollard, The Santa Fe New Mexican, January 27, 2022
•
3 min read
Zackery Kimball, a substitute teacher at Bailey Middle School, works with two classes of students at the school's theater hall on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, in Las Vegas. Many schools have vacant teaching and/or support staff jobs and no available substitutes to cover day-to-day absences.
Zackery Kimball, a substitute teacher at Bailey Middle School in Las Vegas, works with two classes of students at the school's theater hall on a Friday in December 2021.
Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP
School & District Management Schools Are Desperate for Substitutes and Getting Creative
Now in the substitute-teacher pool: parents, college students, and the National Guard.
Evie Blad, January 20, 2022
•
10 min read
Illustration of a paper people pyramid where the top figure has moved to the bottom to support the structure.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week and DigitalVision Vectors
School & District Management Q&A Serving as Substitute Teacher, Superintendent Gets Fresh View of Schools' COVID Struggles
A superintendent shares her experiences on TikTok after substituting as a teacher in her district because of a staffing shortage.
Evie Blad, December 20, 2021
•
8 min read
A Brownsville Independent School District bus acts as a WI-FI hotspot for students needing to connect online for distance learning on the first day of class Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in the parking lot of the Margaret M. Clark Aquatic Center in Brownsville, Texas. The bus is one of 20 hotspots throughout the city to help students have access to their online classes as part of the remote start to the school year due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Several shool buildings in different parts of the country have had to shut down in recent weeks due to a lack of available bus drivers.
Denise Cathey/The Brownsville Herald via AP
School & District Management Staff Shortages Affect Students, Too. Here's Where Schools Are Shutting Down
A few months into the third academic year in a row disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, at least several dozen school buildings in numerous states have had to shut down due to inadequate staffing.
Mark Lieberman, October 21, 2021
•
1 min read
Stephanie LeBlanc, instructional strategist at Greeley Middle School in Cumberland Center, Maine.
Stephanie LeBlanc, an instructional strategist at Greely Middle School in Cumberland Center, Maine, has picked up numerous additional duties to help cover for staffing shortages at the school.
Ryan David Brown for Education Week
School & District Management How Staff Shortages Are Crushing Schools
Teachers are sacrificing their planning periods, students are arriving hours late, meals are out of whack, and patience is running thin.
Mark Lieberman, October 15, 2021
•
11 min read
Image of an empty classroom.
urfinguss/iStock/Getty
School & District Management From Our Research Center The Already Dire Substitute Shortage Could Get 'Worse Before It Gets Better'
School districts are trying all sorts of tactics, including increasing pay and relaxing requirements, to get more subs in classrooms.
Madeline Will, October 13, 2021
•
10 min read
A "Bus Drivers Wanted" sign is shown Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, in Sandy, Utah. A shortage of bus drivers is complicating the start of a new school year already facing a surge in COVID-19 cases and conflicts over whether masks should be required in school buildings.
A "Bus Drivers Wanted" sign is shown Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, in Sandy, Utah. A shortage of bus drivers is complicating the start of a new school year already facing a surge in COVID-19 cases and conflicts over whether masks should be required in school buildings.
Rick Bowmer/AP
Recruitment & Retention 'No Respect and No Support': K-12 Workers Explain Why Schools Struggle With Staffing
Bus drivers, custodians, and other school employees share stories of low pay, meager benefits, minimal respect, and dangerous conditions.
Mark Lieberman, September 24, 2021
•
5 min read
Substitutes size is fine
Getty
Recruitment & Retention This District Built a Better, More Reliable Supply of Substitute Teachers. Here's How
A Rhode Island school district tackles one of the biggest staffing challenges for school administrators. So far, it's working.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 2, 2021
•
6 min read
Hands holding a monochromatic head shaped puzzle of a classroom with three colorful pieces of green grass, sunshine, and trees floating around the puzzle . Mental health concept.
Collage by Gina Tomko/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty Images Plus)
Teaching Profession Students Are Getting Mental Health Days. So Why Don't Teachers?
As the push grows for student mental health days, a Maryland teenager advocates for giving the same to teachers.
Madeline Will, August 3, 2021
•
7 min read
A parent, center, completes a form granting permission for random COVID-19 testing for students as he arrives with his daughter, left, at P.S. 134 Henrietta Szold Elementary School on Dec. 7, 2020, in New York.
A parent, center, gives consent for random COVID-19 testing for students as he arrives with his daughter, left, at P.S. 134 Henrietta Szold Elementary School in New York last December.
Mark Lennihan/AP
School & District Management Can Schools Really Reopen in 100 Days? How Staffing Could Hobble Biden's Plan
President Biden's vow to reopen schools depends on one of the biggest uncertainties in K-12 right now: assembling enough staff to run them.
Catherine Gewertz & Stephen Sawchuk, January 27, 2021
•
10 min read
Substitutes size is fine
Getty
School & District Management From Our Research Center Schools Grapple With Substitute Teacher Shortages, Medical Leave Requests, Survey Finds
The demand for substitute teacher positions is outpacing the supply, and the quality of those applying is a concern in many places.
Holly Kurtz, November 24, 2020
•
6 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Recruitment & Retention The Scramble to Find Substitute Teachers
Some districts are paying bonuses, some are lowering qualifications, and one is assigning central office staff to substitute at least one day per week.
Elizabeth Heubeck, October 26, 2020
•
5 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
Getty/Getty
Law & Courts Sick Teachers Paying for Substitutes: Where and Why It’s Happening
A California teacher battling breast cancer made headlines recently when she was told state law required her to pay for the cost of a sub during her treatment. Where else are these kinds of sick leave policies in place? And why aren’t the unions doing more to fight them?
Madeline Will, May 17, 2019
•
7 min read
Load More ▼