Education
Many schools find substitute teachers in short supply
|
By AMELIA HAVANEC
Capital News Service
LANSING – Many school administrators across the state and the private companies that provide substitute teachers are concerned that they can’t find enough of the right people for the job. However, it’s unknown whether the shortage is due to a lack of quantity of substitutes, or the quality of them. “We occasionally hear anecdotal evidence from districts about their inability to find substitute teachers,” said Bill DiSessa, a communications specialist for the Department of Education. “On the other hand, we also hear, anecdotally, from other districts or from the substitutes themselves that they can’t find substitute jobs.”
But there’s no direct evidence of a statewide shortage, DiSessa added. On the issue of quality, according to Joseph Lubig, the associate dean for teacher education and director of education at Northern Michigan University, a candidate needs only 90 college credit hours to be eligible for a position.