School Districts Advertise, Offer Recruitment Bonuses To Fill Sub Shortages

School districts in St. Louis are trying new ways to get a qualified adult in classrooms when the teacher is out.

Districts have employed technology, pay bumps and advertising as they compete for a small pool of people willing to supervise students in a pinch.

Teachers miss about two weeks of school a year, on average, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality. There’s a nationwide shortage of about 60,000 substitute teachers, according to Stanford University’s Learning Policy Institute.

Hancock Place, a district of 1,500 students in south St. Louis County, took steps last year to stand out among its neighboring districts in the search for subs.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/school-districts-advertise-offer-recruitment-bonuses-fill-sub-shortages