While this story is about San Fran, it is really about the collapsing government school system. Instead of having full time teachers, the shortage is so great the Districts are hiring substitute teachers for a day, a week or a month. No continuity.
Worse they are giving up substitute credentials, like candy to anybody that passes by.
“The substitute teacher shortage is especially dire in California, where there were more than 10,000 teacher vacancies last year. From Shasta to Orange County, school districts across the state are struggling to retain teachers to temporarily lead classrooms as they search for long-term, full-time talent.
“Every day in America, there is a need for 250,000 substitute teachers,” said Jenny Jordan, executive director of TeachStart, a fellowship that provides training, employment and certification for aspiring educators in California. “This is a stark reminder that students don’t get do-overs; every day of their education matters.”
Government schools are not looking for qualified folks; they are looking for warm bodies to pretend they are teaching. The losers are our children and their future. More reason to flee government schools in California.
The dire state of substitute teaching in San Francisco
By Allyson Aleksey, SF Examiner, 4/21/23
As the nationwide teacher shortage deepens, the demand for substitute teachers is sky-high.
But as demand outpaces supply, school districts across the country —
including in San Francisco — are grappling with the fallout.
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The substitute teacher shortage is especially dire in California, where there were more than 10,000 teacher vacancies last year. From Shasta to Orange County, school districts across the state are struggling to retain teachers to temporarily lead classrooms as they search for long-term, full-time talent.
“Every day in America, there is a need for 250,000 substitute teachers,” said Jenny Jordan, executive director of TeachStart, a fellowship that provides training, employment and certification for aspiring educators in California. “This is a stark reminder that students don’t get do-overs; every day of their education matters.”
But even the supply of substitute teachers is drained, explained Nathalie Hrizi, vice president of substitutes for United Educators of San Francisco, SFUSD’s teacher union. “The pool of active substitutes decreased during the pandemic for a variety of reasons and has not been rebuilt by SFUSD district management,” she said.
The pandemic further increased teacher resignations and retirements at SFUSD, thereby increasing a need for substitute teachers — but COVID afflicted substitute teacher retainment too, Hrizi said.
“During distance learning many substitutes found other jobs because of a lack of work available. When we returned to in-person learning many did not feel safe because of potential exposure to COVID or had already secured other full-time work,” Hrizi said.
Kevin Robinson, an SFUSD guest teacher, said that “While COVID might have had some role in a higher demand for substitute or guest teachers, the overall climate of teaching in the district has soured the profession for many teachers. This has resulted in teachers retiring early, leaving the district or the profession entirely.”
Even as we crawl out of the nearly-three year pandemic, teacher absences remain high statewide this academic year, especially in schools that serve socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
According to a recent SFUSD job posting seeking substitute or guest teachers, candidates must be available to work at “hard to staff” schools — which are often those that serve high-needs students.
When a class doesn’t have anyone to fill in, teachers have been forced into teaching during their preparation period and even principals and counselors have been called for emergency duty.
The state tried to solve this issue last year by passing legislation to make it easier for substitute teachers to gain a temporary permit to teach.
A temporary solution to an increasingly permanent problem
Senate Bill 1397, authored by Republican Senator Andreas Borgeas, waives the basic skills proficiency requirement for the issuance of an emergency 30-day permit until July 1, 2024. The law went into effect in January.
Though it’s long been possible to become a substitute teacher through a state permitting process, candidates now need only a bachelor’s degree and must be available to work one day a week, or a minimum of 36 days for the school year.
