Substitute Teachers In High Demand

(KNSI) – Minnesota was one of the hardest hit states regarding substitute teacher availability during the pandemic.

St. Cloud Area Schools was not immune to that trend, seeing its fill rate fall from between 85 and 90 percent to about 60 percent. Executive Director of Human Resources Tracy Bowe says last year it was common to have to pull from the administrative staff at the district office and put them into the classroom on an emergency basis.

“In January we were running a daily kind of triage program where we were looking at 7:30 every morning and seeing “Where do we need people?”, and sending out everybody that we had available to buildings to help cover those classrooms,” she says.

District 742 uses Teachers On Call to staff substitutes. The company saw its pool of available talent swell at the end of last school year. Bowe says she is optimistic that will mean a return to normal for the fall.

If you are wondering how you can help, to qualify for a state license you must have a college bachelor’s degree. Bowe says the hiring process is simplified thanks to the third-party staffing firm.

“They’re awesome at navigating folks through that system of applying for their license and then getting on-boarded with Teachers On Call so that they’re ready to substitute in our district starting in September.”

Bowe says the gig can be part-time, or full-time. Subs are even able to pick and choose which days they’re available each week. Starting pay is roughly 140 dollars per day and that can go higher if you commit to a given school for the entire academic year.

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