Teacher shortages affecting some districts

When teachers are absent and the number of substitutes are low during a normal school year, administrators have some options.

They could ask a full- time instructor to cover an extra class during an off period or combine different groups of students under one teacher.

But because of COVID- 19, this is not a normal school year.

Usually, an administrator dealing with a teacher shortage could say, “‘ All right, well, that’s an English class with a teacher who is going to be out. Who else is teaching English at the same time?’ And now that teacher is going to have twice the amount of kids,” said Carrie Rowe, superintendent of the Beaver Area School District.

“But you can’t do that during COVID,” she added. “That defeats the whole purpose of going hybrid.”

While the Pennsylvania State Education Association said teacher shortages have not been a widespread problem so far, some districts have seen an increased number of full- time teachers taking leave.

Ms. Rowe said about 14 teachers are on leaves of absence from Beaver Area High School for various reasons. The school board voted to start the high school in an online- only model for the first nine weeks of the year partially because of the shortage, but a return to the classroom could happen sooner if feasible, she said.

While the reasons teachers took

leave are not all related to COVID- 19, some were at least partly caused by the pandemic. For example, Ms. Rowe said, some teachers had to reschedule surgeries they planned to have over the summer because of COVID- 19 delays.

“Teachers are excellent at scheduling things for the summer,” she said. “They understand that we need them during the school year.”

Ms. Rowe said teachers have utilized the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, as well as medical sabbaticals.

Fears of a pandemic- related teacher shortage have been floated by education stakeholders throughout the summer as school prepared to reopen amid the COVID19 pandemic.

Nina Esposito- Visgitis, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, said earlier this summer that Pittsburgh Public Schools could see a large number of teachers go on leave or resign if they were forced back into the classroom.

Although she said she does not know if that has come to fruition yet, she hopes to be able to work on a plan with district administration that will accommodate teachers who are uncomfortable with returning to the workplace.

Chris Lilienthal, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, said in an email that most school districts in Pennsylvania have not had shortages, even though many teachers — especially those who are older or have underlying conditions — have expressed concerns.

“In some cases, educators are not being able to teach inperson because of a health issue that could be worsened by exposure to COVID- 19, but they can teach remotely,” Mr. Lilienthal said. “We’ve been encouraging school districts to work with educators in this situation to make sure staff as well as students can remain safe at school.”

Instructors in the Beaver Area School District have the capability of teaching remotely, which will assist administrators as they try to work out the issues facing the high school.

Meanwhile, substitute teachers who would typically fill in are also down in number, a national trend that started long before COVID- 19.

Ms. Rowe said Beaver Area is seeking individuals from the community to earn emergency certifications as substitute teachers. Anyone with a four- year college degree can receive an emergency substitute teaching certification after taking a short course that is often available at intermediate units.

Causing even greater difficulty for the Beaver Area, however, is that all 13 school districts in Beaver County share the same pool of substitutes. And some districts will pay more than others.

Ms. Rowe said the Beaver Area school board recently increased the pay of a daily sub from $ 85 to $ 100 per day and a long- term sub from $ 105 to $ 120 per day to try to entice more individuals to participate.

Even though Beaver Area is dealing with a shortage issue now, Ms. Rowe said she knows that a slight change elsewhere could force other school districts into the same position as Beaver Area High School.

“Everybody is kind of dangling on the precipice of this same issue that I just happen to be on the forefront of,” she said. “If one more teacher or two more teachers in some place were to have a medical need, then they wouldn’t be able to open, either.”