‘No two days are ever the same’: COVID-19 ‘magnified’ the struggle to find substitute teachers in the Milwaukee area

As the first half of the school year comes to a close, several school districts have had to shift to temporary virtual learning.

One reason for the shutdowns is obvious: an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and the resulting need for quarantines. The other — a shortage of substitute teachers who can help keep in-person classes operational — is less immediately visible but just as important.

The shortage of substitute teachers was an issue among area districts even before COVID-19, but has now been magnified by the pandemic. Understandable health concerns stop some subs from filling openings they might otherwise take, while others have decided they need to prioritize helping their own children with at-home learning.

As a result, school operations can be thrown out of whack as staff scramble to cover the openings, creating serious scheduling difficulties and depriving students of much-needed consistency.

'Magnified in this environment'

Franklin School District director of human resources Valley Elliehausen said the district has had a harder time finding substitutes to fill absences. 

"That strains our system because we used to rely on (substitute teachers) to take care of those number of absences every day," Elliehausen said. "Now we're struggling to get a smaller number of subs coupled with your quarantining and your COVID-related absenteeism is what pushes us to really be focused, agile, directed in the mornings as a system, which is a challenge.

"Substitute shortages have been in place in a pre-COVID environment," she added. "The labor market was tightening in those areas, and we certainly had struggled to fill. It's different now. It is magnified in this environment." 

Sharon Thiede, assistant superintendent of human resources in the Waukesha School District, said a large number of substitutes are retired teachers who are at higher risk for COVID-19. She said many of them have chosen not to take substitute assignments during the pandemic.

Thiede also said parents of school-age children have served as substitutes for the district in the past, but some have decided to stay home and facilitate at-home learning for their own children. 

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Thiede said substitutes are at-will employees who can work when/if they are able. She said a core group of the district's substitute pool is working consistently, but it's a smaller group than the district is used to.

"The very nature of the pandemic creates an uncertainty for everyone’s day-to-day living, and that doubtlessly has an impact on when/if substitutes are able to and (are) comfortable with picking up assignments," Thiede said.

Thiede said the district has not hired as many substitutes as in previous years. She said the applicants are not there, and many who have applied have not followed through with the new hire process.

"That is not uncommon for this position; many see the substitute job as a temporary job while they look for other work, but this year we’re feeling it even more than we have previously," said Thiede. 

That is also the case in districts such as St. Francis.

"Previously, it was people that had a connection to the district and did it as a service or because they're strongly connected to St. Francis," said interim Superintendent Mark Elworthy.

But now, with the pandemic, there are other issues that could affect someone's decision to work as a substitute. 

Teacher concerns

The president of the state's largest teachers union said in October that some school districts are not following public health guidance. 

Ron "Duff" Martin of the Wisconsin Education Association Council also said districts are moving benchmarks to justify keeping their school buildings open for in-person instruction. 

Those concerns also saw teachers in the Franklin School District file a grievance against the district, saying that classes are too large to maintain social distancing, the district has not improved ventilation and filtration to prevent the spread of COVID-19, has no serious plan to move to virtual instruction and has, in fact, moved the benchmark for it.

In Waukesha, the pandemic caused a teacher to quit her job and take a new position outside the classroom after she said the Waukesha School District wouldn't accommodate her circumstances.

Kelly Horton, who has six years of teaching experience, five of them at Meadowbrook Elementary, wanted the district to provide accommodations for her because her husband, John, has had a liver and kidney transplant and has been immunosuppressed for 16 years. She said she asked to teach the district's virtual options, and when the district refused she decided to resign.

“As a general practice, the School District of Waukesha does not comment on personnel matters," said Thiede of Horton's allegations.

'No two days are ever the same'

In the Germantown School District, Superintendent Brett Stousland said the district has struggled to fill for absent teachers. In one case, one of the district's elementary schools had 10 teachers out — and only two substitutes.

"What happens is all the other teachers give up their prep time and cover whenever they can," he said.

When a teacher is out but can still video in, the district can have another adult in the classroom to supervise — but that puts stress on the staff because they may have to give up a period where they could do other work to support another class.

"At the high school, for example, when you have one teacher out or uncovered, that's seven different periods that someone has to pick up," he said. 

Sometimes, Stousland added, even non-teachers have to fill in.

"There's situations where a secretary will be in the room or a principal will be covering in the room," he said. 

Elliehausen echoed the sentiment that absenteeism looks different this year because of COVID-19.

"There weren't the same number of 14-day absences (previously) that we see now, which again pushes us outside of our comfort zone to think about it differently and really think about it from the lens of a child. ... We want children to have consistency. We don't want them to have somebody different for 14 days," she said.

"The maturity of the children, the level of instruction, the content — all of those things, all of those variables — are in motion every morning as we look at that day, and no two days are ever the same," Elliehausen said.

Districts also use staff absence rates as part of their decision-making to determine when to change learning models.

Ian Thompson, executive director of communications and engagement for the Mequon-Thiensville School District, said that if any school has more than 10% of on-campus staff members absent for COVID-19 related reasons, the district tries to project whether attendance will improve over the next few days.

"As a district, we’ve established rates of 80% or less employee attendance for individual schools and 85% or less employee attendance across the district as benchmarks for considering a change in instructional scenarios," Thompson said.

How substitute teachers are hired

The methods for finding substitute teachers vary by district. Some districts, such as St. Francis, Mequon-Thiensville and Franklin, use Teachers On Call, a company that provides substitutes to more than 150 school districts and more than 450 early childhood education centers, charter and private schools nationwide.

The Waukesha School District, however, hires its substitute teachers directly.

By employing substitutes as direct district employees, the district has more interaction with them before sending them into its schools, offers ongoing support and input and builds some rapport with them.

The district also said it offers a pay rate that is competitive with surrounding districts: $115 for a full day and $57.50 for a half-day. If a substitute is on a long-term assignment (covering for the same teacher) the pay rate is $115 per day for up to 21 days; $130 per day for 21-60 days and $170 per day for 61 or more days.

Could you be a substitute?

To be a substitute teacher, applicants must have an associate's degree or higher from an accredited college or university and a license from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). The degree does not have to be in education. 

More information can be found at https://dpi.wi.gov/licensing/apply-educator-license/substitute.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.