By Kelly Cantwell
Editor
While the country worries about a shortage of substitute teachers, the Cincinnati region has not been impacted as dramatically as national media may make the countrywide shortage appear.
“The shortage, while real, can be overblown,” said Matt Wendeln, program manager for Comprehensive Substitute Solutions, an organization created by the Hamilton and Clermont County Educational Service Centers to provide cost effective services to local school districts.
There are some shortages, however. One explanation is that when the unemployment rate goes down, the pool of subs working towards full-time employment shrinks, Wendeln said.
About 40 percent of the substitutes working for CSS are retired teachers, which are an excellent resource for districts because they already have training and don’t need as much support. In addition, about 20 percent are looking for a permanent education job, Wendeln said.
The other 40 percent are people that have a degree but in another area. Ohio requires a bachelor’s degree, which could also play a role in the shortage, Wendeln said.
Heather Powell, principal of Williamsburg High School, has seen a decrease in a specific type of substitute.
“Within the last five years we’ve found that across five areas we have a shortage of pre-service teachers,” Powell said, meaning teachers that finish college and are waiting to get their first job.
The school used to see those teachers a lot more, but being a substitute teacher is not very lucrative, Powell said.
However, that also means that she doesn’t get to know these pre-service teachers, which helps her know if she wants to hire them. Powell even suspects that less people may be going into education, as it seems that she gets less applications for open positions than she used to. In addition, Powell finds that substitutes are more nervous about working at the high school level. Most of her substitutes now are retired teachers.
The other reason that Williamsburg High School may be seeing a shortage is that it is a smaller area that is a long drive for people living inside the Interstate 275 loop, Powell said.
Even though there is at least some shortage, the CSS is still filling over 90 percent of teacher absences in public schools. Private schools can have a harder time filling absences because they do not have a traditional volunteer base, Wendeln said.
“The substitute shortage is real, however it’s a bit more nuance and we still have a cadre of excellent substitute teachers working throughout the region,” Wendeln said.
Another reason there may be a shortage is the pay rates, which vary from $80-100 a day in this region. While there have been conversations about it, there has been no movement to raise that significantly, Wendeln said.
That being said, Wendeln has surveyed his substitutes and the majority did not give pay as their number one reason for substitute teaching, rather they love the students, they are passionate about education, they like the flexibility and they want to help the community. Substitutes chose wanting to supplement their income as fifth when ranking, Wendeln said.
When Wendeln asked how they chose what districts to sub in, income came behind geographic location and a connection to the school, he said.
When the districts give notice earlier than the night before, there is a high probability that the opening will be filled. Substitutes are not compelled to fill an absence, and are especially hard to find at the last minute because they may have made other plans, Wendeln said.
“In some ways we’re at the mercy of substitute behavior,” Wendeln said.
School districts have started to recruit substitutes in their community because they are seeing a shortage, Wendeln said.