Bloomington-Normal schools need substitute teachers—and they need them bad.
Unit 5 Superintendent Kristen Weikle said all Illinois school districts have dealt with a sub shortage for years. But it's worse during the pandemic, with fewer people willing or able to teach in-person.
Weikle said the district is considering using a staffing company, like Kelly Education, to help find enough qualified people.
“The benefit to using an outsource like that is that they can definitely dedicate all of their time and attention to recruiting, to training—while still giving the school district control of saying, ‘Yes, we want this person to serve in our buildings’ or ‘No, we don't.’”
On a typical day, she said, the district might need anywhere from 60 to 70 subs. The need is higher during certain times of the year.
“Whether it be during flu season or back to school, when maybe some of our employees are taking their kids to college, those rates may increase,” said Weikle, adding when teachers need to quarantine after being deemed a COVID-19 close contact, that also creates strain on the district.
Weikle said Unit 5 already has more than 200 subs that fill in for teachers, paraprofessionals or administrative assistants. She said the human resources department reached out to them at the beginning of the semester to see if they’d be available in a crunch and received mixed results: some said no because they fall in a high-risk category, while others said they were fine with it.
In the absence of sub coverage, a certified teacher assistant may step in to cover. In recent weeks, Weikle said, building administrators have had to head to the classroom.
“I hate to say that, but if we don't have that coverage, it may impact our ability to stay open,” Weikle said.
She said traditional teacher substitutes need to have a bachelor's degree and apply through the Regional Office of Education. She said there’s also an opportunity for short-term emergency approval for anyone with 60 college hours or an associate's degree to apply for a temporary substitute license.
Some of those requirements have been relaxed to help meet the need during the pandemic, she said.
“If someone meets our criteria—as far as passing a background check, fingerprinting, we have evidence that they've demonstrated being a good employee and a good citizen—then they could serve as a classroom supervisor,” Weikle said.
Teachers would still be leading the core instruction, she said, but could do so from home, if necessary.
Weikle encourages any parents or family members interested in helping to contact the district for more information.
There's no subscription fee to listen or read our stories. Everyone can access this essential public service thanks to community support. Donate now, and help fund your public media.
