School districts looking for substitute teachers

The school year has just gotten underway, but area school districts are already looking for substitutes to add to their lists of people to call when staff members have to be away from their duties.

'We need great substitute teachers that know our system in the classroom when our teachers need to be out of their buildings,” said Laurie Noll, superintendent of Fairfield Community School District.

Each school district compiles its own list of substitute workers, and then calls those workers when there is a vacancy to be filled. Substitutes can be on lists for multiple districts.

'Many of the [substitute] teachers can be a part of several districts and take the jobs that they are most interest in for that day,” said Noll.

'We might be more fortunate than some other districts because we have dedicated subs who come when we call,” said Jeff Maeder, Winfield-Mt. Union Community School District. Those substitute teachers are paid $120 a day.

Maeder feels it is important to build relationships and bonds with the substitute workers. For example, the subs on the Winfield-Mt. Union list were invited to attend the district's emergency-planning meeting last week, and more than a dozen accepted the invitation.

Not just anyone can be a substitue teacher, however. The Iowa Board of Educaitonal Examiners requires all substitute teachers to have, or have had, a teaching license as well as a Substitute Teaching License. For those without a teaching license, either in the State of Iowa or out-of-state, individuals with a Bachelor of Arts degree can take sub authorization classes, according to Noll. The classes are offered through the Area Education Agency.

To get on Fairfield's substitute list, teachers go to Teach Iowa and fill out an application. At that point, they are called for more information and need to fill out an employment packet for substitute teaching. They go through a background check as well. Noll said there are about 50 people on Fairfield's list. They are paid $118 a day.

Willie Stone, Washington Community School District superintendent, said Washington CSD runs advertisements searching for subs. Interested people can apply in the district's central office. Substitute teachers in Washington are paid $135 a day.

'Subs contact our HR department to get put on our sub list,” said Dave Harper, superintendent of Pekin Community School District. 'Every sub has to have a background check completed on them prior to them subbing for us. We evaluate our subs in the classroom and determine if we want them to continue to sub for us in the future.”

'I'm guessing we have between 20 to 30 subs on our list, but a lot of those sub in other districts, also,” continued Harper. The substitute teacher in Pekin are paid $120 a day.

Currently Washington and Pekin school districts are in the process of switching to an automated system to help streamline the calling and scheduling of substitutes.

'Eventually, it will all be digitally done, so hopefully it will be easier to find substitute bus drivers, cooks, associates and others, too,” said Stone.

To be on the lists for a school district's substitute bus drivers or other, interested people should contact the districts' offices.

Substitutes do have to meet certain criteria.

'Department of Education and IDOT has requirements for bus drivers,” said Harper. 'They need a CDL, School Bus endorsement, Passenger endorsement and maybe air brakes endorsement. Cooks have to be able to lift up to 20 pounds. Associates have to be able to get up and down from the floor when working with students.”

'For any application, you must go online,” said Noll. 'Then the directors contact the potential substitute. Substitute bus drivers go through Mark Branch, transportation director. Custodians would go through Harry Williams, facilities director. Paraeducators and teachers would go through Christine Willmon, superintendent secretary. Food service substitutes would need to go through Stephanie Hawkins, food service director.”

'We have a sub coordinator for our associates, and we have our food service director and transportation director coordinate subs for those positions,” said Harper. 'Contact the district office at 319-695-3707 and talk to Missy Sellers or email her at missy.sellers@pekincsd.org.”

The superintendents explained it is necessary to have lists of substitute workers because, as Stone put it: 'Life happens.”

'We have various reasons for a teacher to be gone from our district,” said Harper. 'Our professional development plan has courses and meetings that teachers need to attend to stay on top of the Iowa Core Standards and initiatives we have going on in the district. Illness is another reason - personal illness or a family member may be ill. Bereavement. Those are really our three main reasons for a teacher to be gone during the school day.”

Stone added maternity leave to the list of why teachers might be absent.