Sub-stantial need: School district desperate for substitute teachers

Terry Webster

Friday, June 15, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

Classroom opportunity

Kevin Lord has spent the last eight years moonlighting -- by day -- as a substitute teacher in the Clark County School District.

By night, he dotes on weary travelers as a customer service representative for Delta Airlines. He usually works until 1:30 a.m.

A few hours later, he's handing out worksheets and teaching reading to fourth graders at Lummis Elementary School in Summerlin.

"You have to spell those words right," he tells a group of students completing a reading worksheet. "They are right there on the page."

As the district braces for a fall teacher shortage, school officials are looking for more people like Lord. A recruiting drive for substitute teachers taking place Monday and Thursday is expected to draw several hundred applicants.

"I can remember when we used to say, 'Wow, we hit 1,000 jobs today,' " said Barbara Thornton, who oversees substitute services for the district. "Next year it's probably going to be 2,000."

Up to 35,000 students a day, or about 15 percent of the district's total 231,125 students, are being taught by substitute teachers. That figure is based on the district's use of about 1,000 substitutes a day and an average of 30 students per class.

Additionally, the Clark County Education Association, the teachers union, estimates that up to 5,000 students a day are being taught by long-term substitute teachers.

Depending on the severity of a teacher shortage this fall, all of those figures could double.

"It's always best to have licensed personnel," said John Jasonek, executive director of the teachers union. "I think that's true not only of teaching but any profession."

Perhaps, Jasonek said, it's even truer with teaching.

"Even with lesson plans, there's no way someone can walk in and just pick up what's going on," he said. "They are not prepared to teach and to do what teachers do best."

Superintendent Carlos Garcia said the district right now has little choice but to add more substitutes.

"Obviously, it's not an ideal situation," said. "But if we have no other option, then what are we going to do?"

Garcia added that the district will be working hard to hire more full-time teachers over the summer. About 600 new teachers have so far been recruited for fall, but the district needs another 1,000 teachers over and above that number.

Lord said getting started as a sub isn't easy. But he says he gives the job his all.

"I make it very clear to the students that I am not here to babysit," he said. "But I did not receive any classroom training. I had to figure all of this out on my own. You have to be able to teach in a way that interests the students. Then, when that light bulb of understanding goes on, it's the most rewarding job."

Lord, who has a bachelor's degree in English from Penn State, recalls buying computer CD ROMs to refresh his knowledge of history. He also took a brush-up course to re-learn algebra.

One of the most difficult areas for subs is classroom discipline, Lord said.

"Remember what it was like when you had a substitute in school?" he asks.

Lee Scrivner, a former substitute teacher for the Clark County School District, agreed that taking charge of the classroom is hard for subs.

He summed up his experience by saying he had both good and bad experiences. One of the most rewarding experiences for Scrivner was working with an advanced English class.

Other times, Scrivner said, the day amounted to babysitting.

"Some of the students didn't really want to be in class and I felt like I was just getting in the way of whatever they wanted to do," he said.

Still, there are candidates lining up to become subs in the district.

Recruiting drives, like the one scheduled for Monday, draw in all kinds of candidates -- and characters.

School officials recalled a substitute candidate who practiced yoga through an entire orientation session -- and had to be asked to sit down. Another, they said, kept discussing his knowledge of zinc and how it's important to get enough of it in your diet.

School officials also said they are amazed at the number of people who show up for job interviews "in shorts and flip-flops." Needless to say, some of those people don't make the final cut.

Thornton estimates the district had about 1,500 subs during the last school year.

"Because we let them select the area of town they want to work in and the days of the week they want to work, we may have only 800 available at any given time," she said.

Sometimes, schools are unable to get subs and have to pay regular teachers extra money to teach during time normally set aside for class preparations.

Typically, Thornton said, the need for substitutes increases as the school year progresses.

But that could change this year if the district is short by 500 teachers when school opens, as Garcia is predicting.

Candidates with a bachelor's degree or higher, or at least 62 semester credits, six of which must be in professional education, are eligible for substitute teaching positions in the district. Preference is given to candidates with bachelor's degrees or higher. Pay is $80 a day.

But that does not mean candidates with those qualifications will automatically be given work. In addition to the basic education requirements, candidates must pass a series of interviews, supply three references and take a mandatory orientation class.

"After that, they are ready to go," said Thornton.

Subs also have to pay $24 for fingerprinting and $100 for a substitute teaching license. The license is good for three years and subs must obtain a permanent license within that time if they want to continue teaching in the school district.

Once approved, the substitute teacher's information is entered into a computerized system that lists the subjects they prefer to teach and where they prefer to teach.

Schools can also have a priority list programmed into the computer system, which includes names of subs they prefer to work with. Another way schools get subs is by having permanent teachers recommend someone on the district's roster of substitute teachers.

"If someone is not specified for the job, the computer goes into the school's priority list," Thornton said. "Finding no one there, it goes into the preferred list, then the general pool. Then it picks a random Social Security number from the general pool."

The computer calls subs it selects, usually between 5 a.m. to noon for work on the same day or from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. for jobs available the next day.

A handbook issued by the district further outlines other procedures subs are expected to know and follow.

Exactly how many subs is the district looking for?

"As many as we can get," said Thornton. "You can never have too many."

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