FCPS deals with a substitute shortage

Haasini Govindu, an eighth-grader on the Yellow Jackets team, entered her Panther Time class surprised to see a different teacher in the classroom.

Carson requires approximately three to five substitutes each day, and while this number varies based on teacher needs, about 20 substitutes are needed weekly. In recent times, however, finding substitute teachers has become quite difficult as a result of a substitute shortage here in the county.

“The situation is quite unfortunate, and we are struggling every single day to find people to cover classes,” said Mrs. ​Monique Berkeley, an administrative assistant and substitute POC at our school.

The shortage of substitute teachers is an issue that is present throughout Fairfax County and is caused by several factors. One of the major reasons substitutes have dropped the job is due to the Covid pandemic.

“When COVID arrived, it was more difficult for substitutes to sub in a virtual situation and even when classes resumed in person,” said Mrs. Terri Matus, a retired FCPS teacher who now works as a substitute. “Hence, many decided it wasn’t worth the challenge to continue subbing and risking becoming ill.”

However, the lack of sufficient pay is another major contributing factor to the substitute shortage. While substitutes did receive a slight pay raise, the $17.79 per hour for short-term subs and the $23.91 per hour for long-term subs is not enough for many.

“Some of the shortage is also due to the low pay for subs in FCPS as subs get paid more in other counties,” said Mrs. Kathleen Gustafson, a regular term substitute teacher for FCPS. “There are also better incentives in other counties such as an extra $1000 bonus if a sub works every Monday and Friday for a month.”

As a result of this shortage, Carson has had to appoint full-time teachers from the school to cover the class when a sub is not available.

“When there is no sub, we have to pray that there is an available teacher with a planning period, and that is when it becomes a juggling act,” said Mrs. Berkeley. “If there is absolutely no one to be found, then one of the administrators has to go.”

Despite the fact that teachers have to give up their own planning period to cover for another teacher’s class, most teachers have shown a great willingness to do so.

“When I am out, other teachers have been so kind to cover for me, so I would give up my planning period to do the same for them,” said Mrs. Carmen Johnson-Donald, an English teacher on the Dolphins team. “I would willingly do it for the good of the school.”

However, more recently, teachers have started getting paid to cover these classes in the absence of a substitute teacher.

“Fairfax County has devised a payment plan for them when they sacrifice their planning period time to cover a colleagues class,” said Mrs. Berkeley, “and that incentive is certainly probably helping with people being a little more willing because time is money.”

While this issue certainly affects the staff and administrators at our school, students have also faced a few challenges.

“While it is fun to have one of my other teachers sub for a class, it can get overwhelming when there are multiple teachers rotating during the block,” said Haasini. “It is not very consistent and can get very confusing, as each teacher is different.”

Currently, this issue seems to be a long-term one and is predicted to last a few more years, at least until Fairfax County finds a new method that really works. 

“This probably isn’t going to get better for the next year to two years unless they come up with something big and really good to get more people interested,” said Mrs. Berkeley. “It is definitely a big issue, and I hope Fairfax County finds a way to resolve it as quickly as possible.”