The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:
Those perfect spring Fridays - cerulean skies, temperatures in the 70s - are exactly the kind of days that Dan Nerelli has come to dread.
That's because Nerelli, assistant superintendent for personnel in the Upper Darby School District, knows he'll be scrambling to put substitutes in dozens of teacher-less classrooms. The Delaware County district's ability to cover faculty absences has plunged from 95 percent just a few years ago to roughly 60 percent.
Philadelphia-area school administrators such as Nerelli now struggle to find ways to cope with a shortage of substitutes unlike anything they have ever faced. They congregate multiple classes in the gym and put one teacher in charge. They pay regular faculty to give up prep time. They take over classrooms themselves.
Earlier this month, the Delaware County Intermediate Unit announced a new two-day program to train "guest teachers" for the sub-starved districts it serves. It is open to anyone with a bachelor's degree, in any subject.
Harrisburg has put a more radical idea on the chalkboard. A bill crafted by State Sen. Lloyd Smucker (R., Lancaster), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, would allow upper-class college students majoring in education to take over classrooms as paid substitutes.
School officials say Pennsylvania classrooms are one place where the freelance "gig economy" isn't thriving.
Last month, the Philadelphia School District dropped the firm that provides substitutes, Cherry Hill-based Source4Teachers, after it was unable to fill classroom vacancies as much as half of the time. A new company, Kelly Services, has promised to pay subs a higher daily rate. The temporary teachers typically make about $100.
The dearth of subs parallels a dramatic decrease in newly minted certified teachers in Pennsylvania, from 16,361 in 2012-13 to just 6,215 in 2014-15. State and school officials blame fear of layoffs, threats to retirement benefits, the increased stress of the standardized-testing regime, and poor discipline. In the past, more certified teachers has meant a larger pool of substitutes.
There's more:
Marcia Reilly, 53, of Glenolden, raised four children before getting an education degree in 2010. Unable to land a full-time teaching job, she works regularly as a sub, most recently in Upper Darby. She said she enjoys the classroom, but the pay, typically $90 to $120 a day, is frustrating.
"I went through the same education [as] everybody else," Reilly said. "You kind of expect to be paid what you're worth."
In a free market in education: wages would come closer to marginal productivity instead of favoring tenured teachers. Just a reminder to you rookies out there: being an Uber driver is probably a better deal.
