
Students that have a substitute gather in the JFK Auditorium on December 7, 2021 during fourth period.
By David Thatcher, Clarion Staff Reporter
Since the start of the school year, and in years prior, students, and districts all over California have experienced a shortage of substitute teachers and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated this problem.
According to Calmatters the situation has not improved over the past couple of school years the amount of substitute teaching permits that have been issued has decreased significantly. This data proves true when districts in the Bay Area, according to abc7news.com, stated that the Districts have started using district staff workers, directors, counselors, and superintendents to help substitute for classes. In addition, certain districts and schools such as Kennedy have started sending classes to the school auditorium, while other districts have combined classes together. According to EdSource.org, some districts in California are experiencing such a scarce amount of substitute teachers to the point where they may shut schools down temporarily to try to bring in substitute teachers.
Districts all over California have been trying to solve this issue by offering higher pay to substitute teachers, according to KCRA local news. Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) has recently increased pay for substitute teachers to try to fill needed positions. However, the pandemic that some people are still worried about can likely discourage people from substituting.
Kennedy French teacher, Joan Taylor, says that, “California has been losing teachers steadily for several years now and it’s mostly because it’s a job that gets more and more demands placed on it.”
According to calmatters.com and Madame Taylor, California has been losing teachers and the amount of people applying for substitute teaching permits and licenses for many years now which can be an big problem for students who need to have a substitute in the classroom or an actual full-time teacher -- since the lack of available substitute teachers and the increasing number of days full-time teachers are out (*due to a variety of reasons) makes learning for students much more complicated and difficult.
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