THE FOLLOWING IS EXCERPTED FROM THE PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, and represents some kind of hope for the future......
By Stephanie Ritenbaugh
TRIBUNE-REVIEW NEWS SERVICE
Sunday, December 18, 2005
School districts constantly work to have enough
substitute teachers, especially in high school math and
sciences.
"You can never have enough substitute teachers," said Todd O'Shell,
spokesman for South Butler County School District. "That's just a fact of life in
every school district."
O'Shell said the district has a good pool of substitutes on stand-by. Still, it can
be difficult to fill certain areas, such as high school math and sciences.
Of the 84 subs on Deer Lakes School District's list, probably about three-fourths
are elementary subs, leaving the higher grades struggling, said Superintendent
Mark King.
"I think a lot of people like working with the elementary and try to work their
career there," King said.
For example, the district could get more than 400 applications for an opening in
an elementary school, but a position for a high school English teacher might
draw only 45 applications.
Kiski Area has a similar problem finding certified teachers willing to fill in at the
high school.
"And you're competing with neighboring school districts," said assistant
superintendent James Dick. "That person could be on three or four sub lists."
Some educators see the problem getting worse.
"In all of the reports I've read, there's going to be a teacher shortage in five to
10 years. If that's just regular teachers, then what about substitutes?" said
James Budzilek, superintendent for Leechburg Area School District.
Some districts turn to programs such as Smart Start to certify professionals who
can step in as temporary teachers. Not all subs are awakened at 5 a.m. with a telephone call asking them to come to class. Several districts have started using the Web-based Aesop system, which lists absences in advance -- when they're known -- and allows subs to list
when they're free to cover. It also allows subs to be contacted by phone or email
automatically when there's a sudden absence.
Valerie McGee loves the system.
"It's very convenient, more so than a phone call," said McGee, who has been a
substitute for almost two years in South Butler.
She's one of many certified substitutes who are recent college graduates trying
to get the experience to land a full-time job. McGee, who graduated from
California University in 2003, is certified for elementary and middle school
teaching, but her goal is to be a full-time elementary school teacher.
"It's difficult to get a teaching job, so the best experience would be to sub and
get more experience teaching in the field," she said.

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