Solving the Substitute Shortage

By Norah Lesperance

Since returning to in-person learning for the 2021-2022 school year, MCPS has suffered from a shortage of substitute teachers. With full-time educators needing time off more frequently due to Covid-19 quarantine protocols, caring for quarantined family members, and needing breaks from a stressful transition away from virtual learning, substitute teachers are more important than ever.

In the absence of ample substitutes, teachers have been forced to take on coverage of their colleagues’ classes, only adding to the chaos of adapting to the school year as they give up their planning periods. Many overwhelmed educators hope for a solution to the shortage.

What does MCPS need to do to bring more substitutes into the classroom? The Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), a teachers’ union, stresses that “MCPS must significantly increase substitute pay so that MCPS becomes the top choice for substitute educators looking for work in the DMV area.”

Currently, the hourly wages advertised for MCPS substitutes are $18.79 for non-teacher certified employees and $19.97 for teacher certified employees. Staff worry that non-competitive payment could be a contributing factor to the fact that only 50% of open substitute positions were filled in September.

If MCPS is unable to attract enough substitutes to lift the unsustainable coverage burden off of teachers, staff hope that they will at least be compensated for their extra work. In Howard County, teachers are paid $55 for each class they cover during the Covid-19 pandemic to compensate for their lost planning time. MCPS teachers walk away with no additional payment and more hours to work outside of the classroom.

The issue has become so debilitating that the MCPS Board of Education decided on Nov. 9 to change the planned Nov. 24 half-day to a day off. They foresaw a lack of staff so great that schools would be unable to function, and opted to cancel the day entirely.