School substitutes want to make a difference, as pandemic-induced demand continues

Published 5:45 am Thursday, February 1, 2024

On any given day in Central Oregon schools, over 200 to 300 substitute teachers and support staff fill in for the educators who couldn’t work.

It’s not enough, though.

The pandemic created a substitute shortage that is ongoing. School staff are changing their routines and giving up preparation time each day to fill in when there aren’t enough substitutes. On Tuesday, when schools needed 260 substitutes, 20 positions weren’t able to be filled.

“Our demand for substitutes is huge,” said Ann Marie Anderson, the recruitment, retention and substitute specialist for the High Desert Education Service District, which manages substitutes for several school districts. “I need over 1,000 active substitutes to serve the need of this community.”

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There are more than 3,000 educator positions in Central Oregon that may need to be filled by substitutes each day. Currently the substitute pool varies from 600 to 800 at any given time. The service district is actively trying to boost the ranks and those who have become substitutes in recent years say the job is rewarding.

“We need our substitutes to support our teachers, to take care of our teachers, so our schools thrive and our students thrive,” said Anderson.

‘I’m actually able to teach’

Kendra McCamey, 43, began subbing three years ago after staying home for 10 years to raise her children. When her youngest child was set to start kindergarten, McCamey began looking to start working as a substitute.

“I fell in love with it,” said McCamey, who plans to pursue a full-time teaching position next school year. She is certified to teach in Oregon.

“I’ve been in K-5, and I’ve done specials like P.E. (physical education) and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, mathematics), so I’ve kinda gone all over in that aspect,” she said.

Lately, McCamey has mainly worked at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, where her kids attend.

“After doing it for almost three years now, I’m seeing the benefit from making a school yours, and those kids knowing you, and I’m actually able to teach, rather than walking in and doing classroom management,” she said.

McCamey said she feels as though she’s become part of the Silver Rail community. She would like to teach at the elementary level.

“I’m like the aunt of that school,” she said. “(The students) will wave and I can get a smile on their face, and it makes a difference in those kids’ lives to know somebody that’s a part of their school versus random people coming in all the time.”

Why is there a teacher shortage?

The substitute shortage has its roots in the pandemic, when teaching practices changed, such as switching to remote learning, said Anderson. Additionally, Central Oregon is growing, so more teachers and substitutes are needed as well.

“Many left the (substitute) pool at that time when we were doing remote learning,” said Anderson. “That is just probably the number one reason why we need to build up our substitute pool so much… Substitutes are essential to education.”

The district especially needs substitutes who will not be filling in as teachers, but instead as media managers, education assistants or secretaries in classified roles.

Working as a substitute

The High Desert Education Service District has information about pay, requirements and contacts for those interested in substitute services. Visit www.hdesd.org, follow the link to employment opportunities at the top and navigate to the About Substitute Services page.

Some schools are asking licensed substitutes, who would normally fill in for teachers, to work in support staff positions due to the shortage. Anderson works personally with schools and available substitutes to fill long-term support staff positions. The education service district also just negotiated a salary raise for support-staff substitutes.

“Students’ learning suffers, in that they may miss out on their reading, math, language, or social emotional support intervention sessions for the day, or students may not be able to fully participate in their regular lessons or routine without a support sub,” Anderson wrote in an email. “But because this has been an ongoing issue for several years, schools adjust as best as they can.”

The education service district is encouraging current substitutes to ask their friends if they’d consider joining. Anderson said she enjoys getting emails from substitutes who say they like the work. She has been seeing a lot of retired teachers and professionals who are looking at a career change join the substitute pool, she said.

‘I still have a lot to offer’

Todd Brown, 62, retired in 2021 after 30 years of teaching, most of which was spent in Bend-La Pine Schools. He was a special education teacher at Pilot Butte Middle School.

“Through all the years, you just see the need for subs, not only just subs, but you need good subs,” he said. “Even if people didn’t have background teaching experience, just good people in general, that care about the kids and are interested in learning from them.”

When Brown retired, he stayed to acclimate his replacement to his students. He still felt like he had something to offer, especially when working with children with disabilities, so he became a substitute. He has mostly been subbing at Pilot Butte Middle, he said.

Brown said he still feels like he has a lot of knowledge to give and he likes to keep busy.

“It’s nice, when you walk in the building, the kids all know you and are excited to see you,” he said. “I try to connect with the kids, hearing their stories, telling them I learn just as much from them as they’re learning from me.”