Brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a shortage of substitute teachers at UC High, at the district level and nationwide since returning to in-person learning, and the results have been especially difficult after returning from Winter Break.

   According to Vox News Reporter Anna North, “Usually, substitute teachers can fill in the gaps, at least in the classroom. But in the fall, districts around the country started facing substitute shortages, brought on in part by the large number of teachers who had left the field since the pandemic began” (vox.com).

   According to UC High Librarian Lynn Miles, during the COVID-19 school shut down, substitutes were let go so that they could get unemployment benefits. 

   “Even though they were offered unemployment benefits a lot of subs did come back after school opened back up because they did increase the pay rate per day. In addition, the district hired two long term visiting teachers that they assign to each school, so we have two on our payroll all the time,” said UC High Clerk Norma Smith.   “However, even with having two all of the time we are still having to pull in kids into the Media Center.”

   “Human Resources for the District have not been in their offices for over a year, and so the ability to get new applicants through the new hire process has been impaired. The District has offered cash incentives to new employees in the substitute position,” said Miles.

   “This is to draw more people to take these positions [the cash incentives]. There is no shortage of work for current substitutes. If you want a job, you can find one right now very, very quickly,” said Lapp.

   “Throughout the country all sorts of staff are currently having a shortage of employment in schools. Custodial, cafeteria, bus, and classroom staff are  some of the most impacted positions currently. This shortage has made things more difficult on staff, admin, and fellow substitutes by creating situations where multiple classes need to be covered by one staff member,” said UC High Resident Visiting Teacher Noah Lapp.

   “It can be more difficult for students to receive effective instruction or one-on-one assistance with assignments when the student to staff ratio gets increasingly lopsided. We are doing our very best here at UC High to try and curb these consequences of the sub shortage,” said Lapp.

   “I am currently one of the Resident Visiting Teachers at UC High, which means that I report to UC High every day. Unless I am assigned a job days or weeks ahead of time for scheduled absences, I find out where my assignment is when I arrive at work,” said Lapp.

   “This week coming back from Winter Break has been hectic with the large numbers of both students and staff out. The largest number of classes I’ve been in charge of at once is six classes,” said Lapp.

   “We’ve had the most staff out this week. It’s a total of twenty-two staff out as of  January 7, 2022. There were at least six teachers who didn’t have a sub. Because of this, we had to make arrangements to put some students in the auditorium or Media Center,” said Smith.

   “Sometimes being a substitute is stressful, especially with the current staffing shortage and teaching during a pandemic. It can be quite stressful putting my focus into helping students and fostering a healthy learning environment, while at the same time worrying about my own physical and mental well-being as we push towards two years in this COVID-19 world we know now,” said Lapp.

   “I remind myself that I am part of a system that is focused on improving students’ lives and setting them up to be successful and important parts of our society, and it motivates me to continue when times are stressful,” said Lapp.

   Because community college classes are fully online this year, Miles is in charge of all of them at once. Previous years, she would sometimes take over for teachers when they had a sudden absence or help out when many classes had to stay in the Media Center. This year since she was put in charge of community college classes, she can no longer help out with other classes.

   Although the current situation is stressful, UC High staff still seem to keep a positive attitude. “We are a wonderful community here at UC High, and these last few years have been a challenge for everyone in all the creativity, nurturing and education we provide. I believe in education in all forms and ways, students are the future and we are here for them in every way we can be,” said Miles.