GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A number of West Michigan school districts are struggling to find substitute teachers for the upcoming school year.
EDUStaff, a local substitute staffing company, told 24 Hour News 8 the trend isn’t new and isn’t getting any better.
“From places to Forest Hills to Caledonia to Byron Center, we have unfilled rates as we do all the way down into Grand Rapids Public Schools,” said EDUStaff President Clark Galloway. “So many local school districts need help.”
When 24 Hour News 8 profiled Godwin Heights Public Schools in 2016, the district was feeling the heat of the substitute shortage and 2017 is looking to be no different.
“I see no way around that it won’t be the same and unfortunately, I feel that it could be slightly a bit worse,” said Godwin Heights Superintendent Bill Fetterhoff.
The reasons for the substitute shortage are the same across the board. EDUStaff told 24 Hour News 8 they include the entry of new members to the workforce, laws that disallow retirees to come back to the staff pool and first-year teachers no longer having to start as substitute teachers.
Galloway said that 10 years ago, about 80 percent of substitute teachers were certified students waiting for a job. These days, about 78 percent of substitutes are considered to be “an average age of 43 years old and returning to work mom” going back to work to make a living.
Many West Michigan districts are raising the pay wage to attract more substitute teachers. Godwin Heights is bumping the rate from $75 per day to $80 dollars and offering free lunch.
GRPS is hiking its rates from $85 per day to $100. GRPS is also spending time recruiting teachers.
“We even went so far as we had a bus donated to go pick students up from Wayne State’s College of Education. We showed them the excitement of the city as a whole,” GRPS Spokesperson John Helmholdt said. “We are definitely out of the box of how we are going about recruiting top talent.”
At GRPS, the problem extends beyond a substitute teacher shortage: Students will start school in a week and the district is still short 60 full-time teachers.
Those interested in becoming a substitute teacher or interested in teaching positions can contact EDUStaff.