Substitute Teachers

Nicolle Gilsdorf
Teacher Leader Project

Friday, 5/8/20

Colleagues and Principal of Old Mission School

TIP Semester 4
 Project Objective
The objective of my Teacher Leader Project was to
conduct research, surveys, and interviews of our school
community regarding attitudes about substitute teachers
and discuss creative solutions on how to attract and
retain good substitutes.
Standards:

● CSTP 1.3 Connecting subject matter to meaningful, real-life contexts

● CSTP 6.2 Establishing professional goals and engaging in continuous and purposeful
professional growth and development
● NBPTS - 5:Teachers are members of learning communities.
● TLMS - Domain 3: Promotes Professional Learning for Continuous Improvement
 Educational Hook

What do you think would

happen if we had enough
substitute teachers?
 Survey Results
Teachers Substitutes

3/6 at 10 or more years

9/12 at 10 or more years
1/6 at 4 - 6 years
Experience 1/12 at 7 - 9 years
1/6 at 1-3 years
2/12 at 4 - 6 years
1/6 at less than a year

5/6 OMS
Schools Sites 12/12 OMS
1/6 OMS and MCP

Substitutes are an
essential part of
10/12 strongly agreed 4/6 strongly agreed
our education
2/12 agreed 2/6 agreed
system.
● Teachers and subs in
general agreed that there
was sufficient information

● One sub out of 5, did

report that they disagreed.
● Nationally opinion vries
diverse between substitutes
and teachers agreeing that
lessons plans are clear and
easy to follow.
● Teachers and substitutes
were fairly equal in
agreeing that materials
needed to teach the
lessons are available

● One sub disagreed

● Substitutes generally
agreed that they left
adequate information.

● Teachers generally agreed

that they provided
adequate information.

● Two teachers did not

agree.
● Substitute teachers agreed
that they should be
evaluated.

● Teachers also agreed or had

no opinion
 Now, You Try
Where have all the subs gone?
Participant Responses:
● Private sector
● Places where they are respected more
● Pay is not enough
● Culture shift of young new grads that are not able to work flex, get hired

COVID Thoughts:
● Retired people will not return
●
Where Have All the Subs Gone?
● Low pay
● Number of students graduating with education degrees,
dropped between
● Lack of benefits
● Little recognition
● Insufficient training
● Unpredictability
● Good subs are offered permanent positions
 Wage Comparison
Wage for General Ed - Part Time

Paso Robles Santa

San Luis Templeton
Old Mission Lucia Mar Joint Unified Maria-Bonita
Coastal Unified School
School Unified School School
District Unified District
District. District
Min 3.5 hours
Min 3.5 hours
$17/hour $60/ $17.14 hr No Hourly No Hourly No Hourly
$62.50
after

No half or full $125 full day $120 full day $121 per day $110 per day
$115 full day
day wage

Participant Questions:
● Do they get paid for preps at OMS? Compare to other school district.
● What is the cost analysis vs retaining substitutes?
 Now, You Try
Thinking outside the box
What are your ideas for attracting and retaining substitutes?
Participant Responses:
● Wage is half day and full day advertising - 17$ looks low even if it is
similar
● We have to be competitive so we don’t stress teachers out
● If we use subs more, they can have stability of work Cycle

Administration side, can we streamline paperwork

 Attracting and Retaining

● Provide an orientation, a tour, and a casual welcome event.

● Invite subs to participate in development workshops with current teachers.
● Offer free lunch, event tickets, and athletic passes.
● Recognize excellent subs! Consider naming your shining stars “Substitute Teachers of the Year”
● Make personal calls to invite retired teachers, student teachers, regular teaching applicants,
and other community-minded individuals to substitute in your district.
● Recruit college students
My research indicated these are the
top key findings
● school districts must be competitive with neighboring districts in
order to attract and keep substitute teachers
● nationally, training is the most effective method of attracting and
keeping substitute teachers
● active hiring practices give school districts a better opportunity to
select the best educators available as substitute teachers
 Culminating Activity
Your Turn

If you were to further this research, what would be your focus?

Participant Responses:
● Continue feedback for the subs
● What is hard, what is easy
● Differences between the public schools and us
● Cal Poly recruitment - are students interested in being a sub - have emails
paid off
● Student teachers - Teacher mentors
● Reach out to Ed Department
● Do our subs want to engage in training? What type of training?
● Do trained substitute teachers make an impact of student education?
 Culminating Activity

If the phrase “substitute teacher” could

be replaced by another term, what would
your suggestion be?
Participant Responses:
● Guest Teacher
● Teacher for the Day
 Post Survey Results
Overall experience 2/3 Very Satisfied
1/3 Satisfied

Information was beneficial 3/3 Very Satisfied

Presentation encouraged discussion and 3/3 Very Satisfied

Information was understandable 3/3 Very Satisfied

What is one idea that you came away with?

● We have to figure out how to get more substitutes for the health and safety of students and staff.
● Excited to find out the best way to motivate subs to get them more work, and relieve any anxiety that
teachers feel in having to use a sub!
● As a group we need to market our substitute positions differently. We need to have better
feedback and evaluations of our subs.