Substitute shortages result in subbing by paraprofessionalsThe Alliance has continued to press in Consultation on the concern of paraprofessionals being pulled from their assignments to substitute for teachers. This seems to be due primarily to a shortage of subs. At the January Paraprofessional Consultation meeting, Alliance representatives presented results of the Alliance’s survey of instructional paras. 58% of respondents said they have been requested to sub for a teacher or class , other than to cover for an ARD. The pulling of paras to sub deprives students of needed assistance and deprives teachers of the support paras provide.
The administrative team reported that there are 419 subs in the system who did not sub at all during the first semester. The district plans to send a survey to that dormant pool of subs to gather information about why they are not subbing, etc. The principals on the Consultation team said there have been fewer absences, and therefore less need for subs, since the info about the district’s employee attendance incentive went out.
Toni Thompson from Human Resources noted that she would like to survey principals about what types of situations are harder to find subs for. Discussion will continue. Overtime Questions
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