A veteran teacher, frustrated with the amount of movies and busywork she saw in classes with substitute teachers, has come up with a solution that Harvard Ed. Magazine refers to as “Uber for substitute teachers.”
Under the startup, Parachute Teachers, professionals in the community—a computer scientist, a chef, a musician, and so on—"parachute” into the classroom and teach something they’re passionate about. The idea, founder Sarah Cherry Rice says, is to promote authentic learning in classrooms.
Parachute Teachers has been an option for the Boston public schools since last school year, said Cherry Rice, who is pursuing her doctoral degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Parachute finds prospective substitutes, handles the background checks, and offers about three hours of basic training on common issues like classroom management and lesson planning.
