Some Illinois school districts are feeling a substitute teacher shortage.
The Dekalb School District in Northern Illinois has had to have principals act as substitute teachers.
Oakwood teachers advertised on social media that their district was looking for substitutes.
St. Joseph Grade School posted on their Facebook page in November that they were in great need of substitute teachers and urged people to contact the Regional Office of Education at 217-893-3219 to find out how to get a short-term license.
Some local school districts said they are finding ways to fill substitute teacher needs even though they would like to have a deeper pool of substitutes to rely on.
Heritage Superintendent Tom Davis is one local superintendent who is thankful for the substitute teachers he has.
“I still feel there is a sub shortage and we are lucky we can cover everything usually,” he said. “The winter sick times are coming however, so we will need everyone we can some days to fill at both schools.”
Davis said that the current roster of substitutes that Heritage is outstanding.
St. Joseph-Ogden Principal Gary Page said the high school also has a high quality substitute teacher pool.
“While we don’t have a ton of subs in terms of quantity we have very high quality subs and are typically able to match subs with their content area strengths,” he said. “This allows many of our subs to step in and teach or at least follow through with a lesson plan. “
SJO has used 128 substitutes through Thanksgiving break but Page expects the number to increase as winter weather and sickness occur.
Davis said the district has had 94 percent attendance so far this year for teachers.
This year the state made it easier for substitute teachers to get licensed in Illinois.
The law created a short term substitute teaching license so people with an associates degree or 60 hours of college credit can substitute teach, allowing teachers with lapsed Professional Educators Licenses to qualify for substitute teaching licenses and increased the number of days to 120 that retired teachers can substitute teach without jeopardizing retirement benefits.
According to a Teacher Shortage Survey done in 2017 by the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools over half, 53 percent, of the surveyed districts said that they have a serious problem with finding substitute teachers. That same survey found that there are 16,500 teacher absences every week and schools are unable to fill 18 percent of those absences.
Page said that in order to substitute a person must obtain a substitute license and register as a substitute teacher at the regional office of education.
“The regional office of education takes care of all the licensing and other registration procedures such as a physical and background check,” he said.
In order to get a regular license, a person must have a bachelors degree.
However, the short-term license allows people to substitute teach for five years, sub no more than five consecutive days, with only an associates degree or 60-hours of completed coursework.
“To sub at SJO, once a prospective sub has their license registered at the ROE they should bring the ROE paperwork to me and fill out an application,” Page said.
Heritage has similar procedures, Davis said.
Davis said the district, on average, uses one substitute per day at each building.
“We try to in-house when possible at each school if a last morning sickness or emergency comes up,” Davis said.
This means a teacher with a prep period fills in for a classroom needing a substitute and then it rotates through people with a free prep period throughout the day. The teachers are paid an in-house sub rate by the minute for the coverage.
Heritage occasionally uses long-term substitutes.
“We used a long-term sub for high school social studies for a maternity leave that just ended, and he did an outstanding job,” he said, “We also have a long-term sub for high school Spanish who worked with us last year as the job remains open.”
What do area schools pay for substitute teachers?
Oakwood School District: $100/day
Heritage School District: $95/day
Prairiview-Ogden School District, St. Joseph-Ogden High School, Thomasboro School District and Villa Grove School District: $90/day
Rantoul Township High School: $85/day
St. Joseph Grade School: $80/day
