Substitute teachers are already in high demand
Staffing problems in classrooms could get worse through the fall
Less than a month into the school year, districts across Connecticut are struggling to attract enough substitute teachers to keep them afloat through teacher shortages. With at least one school shuttered already because of staffing issues, school administrators worry the problem will only get worse through the year.
“When I go on calls with other superintendents, we talk about what would make us all go home and not be in person. People talk about COVID cases, but I think substitutes might be a bigger issue than the number of cases,” Glastonbury Superintendent of Schools Alan Bookman said Friday.
“We’ve been interviewing people every which way. We’ve been advertising for them. We used to start at $87.50 a day for the first 20 days, we’ve jumped to $97.50 for everybody,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can, and everybody else is too. But there’s a limited supply of people whoare willing to do it, and trying to get them is really a top priority.”
In Trumbull, Superintendent of Schools Martin Semmel announced Wednesday that Hillcrest Middle School would remain closed until October after a positive case in the school community caused more staff members to quarantine than the district could replace with substitutes. Students will shift to online learning.
“The closing is necessary because we do not have enough combined substitutes to cover staff who are now required to quarantine in the Hillcrest case and the second case [at Trumbull High School]. To be clear, there would be well over 10 classrooms without proper supervision at Hillcrest if we tried to remain open,” he wrote in a letter to families. “If the district is able to secure significantly more subs, then we will be able to reopen earlier.”
While a Glastonbury staff member tested positive on the district’s first day of reopening, Bookman said they did not face an issue finding a substitute because the individual was not a classroom teacher. If teachers had to quarantine due to potential exposure, but felt fine, they could teach remotely while a paraprofessional or tutor remained in the room with students, he explained.
When people do get sick, or