CLEVELAND — School districts nationwide and in Northeast Ohio are facing a substitute teacher shortage, so districts are turning to new measures to increase hiring.
A substitute teacher plays a crucial role in the classroom.
"A substitute teacher is a person who would come in and fill in for one of our staff members or teachers when there's a vacancy," said Scott Goggin, superintendent of the Westlake City School District.
But in Westlake, the district struggles to find enough subs to fill their classes.
"We're at about an 85% fill rate, which for where we are with the number of substitutes out there. That's really pretty good. However, that's still 15% of the time, that I have to pull other teachers to stop what they're doing and come and cover our classroom," said Goggin.
The district is trying things like adjusting teacher training days and building subs to bolster the available number.
"We have substitutes that we commit to say that you're going to be able to work four days a week here and just show up every day," said Goggin.
They are also using external services, but even they have felt the strain.
"Every substitute pool across the country, probably at least in the state too, has been completely depleted by the pandemic," said Parris Killen, the president of Rachel Wixey & Associates.
For 13 years, the company has provided substitute staffing to 50 school districts across Ohio, but since 2020, numbers have plummeted.
The US Department of Labor reports that in Ohio in 2018, there were more than 16,000 subs, but in 2021, there were only 5,000. Anne believes the shortage is due to a few reasons, including health fears and the more competitive industries. So, the company has to think outside the box.
"We had incentive bonuses, we looked at increasing pay rates. We had special drawings for people that would come in on Mondays and Fridays," said Killen.
The company saw 1,100 sub applications this school year compared to last year when they got 900.
The Cuyahoga Falls City School District also agrees that different measures work. Last year, following a strain on staffing, they pivoted to building subs and increasing pay.
"We have people reaching out to our district who would like to become a building sub, and unfortunately, at this moment, we don't have any openings," said Christine Stewart, the community relations coordinator for Cuyahoga Falls City School District.
Meanwhile, in Westlake, they are slowly seeing better numbers.
The goal remains to stack that sub pool in every district so every classroom is always equipped with a teacher.
"School has to happen no matter what. Every day the kids come to us and they deserve a high quality education and to be in a safe space, and it's our responsibility to make sure that happens," said Stewart.
