How Illinois is addressing the nationwide substitute teacher shortage

How Illinois is addressing the nationwide substitute teacher shortage

Transcript¹

Schools don't have enough short-term teachers to fill in the gaps. Districts in Illinois are now holding one-day online training to get short-term subs, even ones without teaching backgrounds.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

School systems across the country are grappling with teacher shortages. One of the most pressing problems in many places involves a lack of substitute teachers. In Illinois, school districts held one-day training sessions to try to recruit substitutes and move them into the classroom as soon as possible. From member station WNIJ in DeKalb, Peter Medlin reports.

PETER MEDLIN, BYLINE²: Some schools are so desperate for substitutes they've tried recruiting parents. Others have asked local police officers and firefighters to come into the classroom. In New Mexico, they've even called in the National Guard. In Illinois, a short-term substitute license³ was created in direct response to the shortage. It allows potential teachers who only have an associate degree or 60 hours of college credit to become substitutes in public schools.

Mark Kleisner heads the group West 40, a service center for dozens of school districts near Chicago. He says this short-term option is a lifeline because the shortage in this state is worse than ever.

MARK KLEISNER: I'm hearing social workers covering English classes. You know, it's like, we're not serving our kids well, and we don't really have a choice. Our data point this year was over 2,000 educator openings were either unfilled or they were filled by someone not qualified⁴.

MEDLIN: Sonya Spaulding is a professional learning specialist at West 40. She's trying to address the shortage by offering prospective⁵ substitutes an online crash course in teaching before they step into the classroom.

SONYA SPAULDING: We are here to provide you the state-approved short-term substitute training. I'm sort of the captain of today's ship, and I've got a wonderful crew that's going to help you get in the air and land to your prospective locations. We've got...

MEDLIN: This recent Zoom⁶ call is filling up with dozens of faces as Spaulding gets started. Some people watch on their phones while walking down hallways at work. Many have experience working with kids; others just need work. Depending on the school, the pay can range from $100 to over $200 a day. With the program, substitutes pay $50 to get their license, take the training, get a background check and can be in the classroom the very next day.

SPAULDING: It's a quick turnaround, but there's a high level of confidence that these are people who have a connection with the community, and they really want to step up and support the students in this time.

MEDLIN: Nicole Mister is one of the hundreds of new short-term substitutes they've already trained this year. Like most, she's interested in teaching because of her connection to education. She has kids in school and works at an education nonprofit. She says while her first day subbing was difficult, the one-day training actually did help her in the classroom.

NICOLE MISTER: It was nerve-wracking, but Dr. Spaulding was able to really give us some great pointers. She really just told us to, you know, go in with an open mind, and she gave us so many resources online, so it was really able to help.

MEDLIN: But some worry about lowering the barrier to get into the classroom. Desiree Carver-Thomas is a researcher and policy analyst⁷ at the Learning Policy Institute.

DESIREE CARVER-THOMAS: It's certainly a huge concern, especially when you hear stories of students who've had, you know, a rotating cast of substitute teachers all year in their math class. It begs the question of, you know, how much learning can really happen when the person in the classroom, you know, may not have subject matter competency?

MEDLIN: But she says in many states, substitutes aren't required to do any training at all, so anything is a positive. And when so many schools can't find any subs, it's better than canceling classes. But she and others say the long-term solution to the substitute teacher shortage isn't only about substitutes; it's about hiring enough credentialed teachers to fully⁸ staff classrooms.

For NPR News, I'm Peter Medlin.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

4 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

5 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

6 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。