Article dated January 31, 2013:
NORMAL — Susan Grimes of Bloomington missed teaching, so she thought being a substitute would be the answer — until she found out how much it would cost her.
With all of the medical tests, background checks and certification requirements she would have to pay for upfront, she would have to substitute for three full days just to break even. If she didn’t have her teaching certificate, which many substitutes don’t have, the fees would have been hundreds of dollars more.
“I wasn’t so interested,” Grimes said.
Being a substitute teacher these days is harder and more expensive than it used to be, and that has created a shortage school districts are trying to fill by recruiting more people to do the job.
For example, Grimes, who taught English as a Second Language as a volunteer tutor for 13 years, attended a job fair this week sponsored by McLean County Unit 5. The Normal-based district was looking for substitutes, teaching assistants, food service personnel, custodians and others.
Within the first two hours, eight people had been interviewed for substitute and teaching assistant jobs. Some, like Grimes, found out being a substitute wasn’t for her.
“It’s a hard job,” said Diane Wolf, assistant superintendent for the Regional Office of Education for DeWitt, Livingston, McLean counties. It’s far from just baby sitting students, she said.
[ROE site]
[ISBE Substitute Teaching Certification]
[ISBE Licensure FAQ]
[ISBE Certification Application Form]
[Illinois Licensure Testing site] - with documents explaining TAP test
Nate Cunningham, Unit 5 assistant superintendent of human resources, attributes the decline in the substitute pool to a combination of a stronger economy, a recent change in state requirements for how substitutes are licensed and how the timing of that sudden state policy change hit the regional offices of education.
At one point, Unit 5’s substitute pool was as low as 246 people, but it has rebounded to about 290 now. That’s still well below the 400 Cunningham would like to have on hand for covering holiday seasons, flu outbreaks and times when teachers are required to be out of the building.
While Bloomington District 87 doesn’t have “too many unfilled positions” with a substitute pool of about 226, there are specific days and specific classrooms where there is an unmet need, said Superintendent Barry Reilly. For example, he said it’s harder to find substitutes in specialized areas such as special education.
Some people left the substitute pool because they got full-time jobs elsewhere, and many longtime subs were angry about the new requirements and quit, Cunningham said.
A state law passed last year requires substitute teachers to pay for their own fingerprint and police background checks. School districts often absorbed those costs in the past.
Candidates also must prove they have had physicals and tuberculosis tests within the past 90 days.
If a candidate has a bachelor’s degree but not a teaching certificate, he or she must obtain — and pay for — substitute teaching certification. That alone can cost $500.
While the requirements have increased for the job, the pay hasn’t, said Reilly. Both Unit 5 and District 87 still pay $80 a day.
Before 2012, individual schools handled processing their own substitute teachers, but now the regional office of education handles the paperwork for the districts. Since July, the regional office in Bloomington processed 325 substitutes for DeWitt, Livingston and McLean counties.
December graduations have brought some new applicants this month. One such graduate attending Unit 5’s job fair was Isaac Shields of Pontiac.
“I know it’s a process,” he said of all the requirements, adding he was glad to met officials at the job fair. “Now I’m more than a name on a screen.”
Then there were candidates at the job fair like Angela Roop-Lawler of Bloomington, who retired about three years ago after teaching for 35 years in Rantoul, and Ann Gullixon of Bloomington, a stay-at-home mother who wants to have time off that coincides with her young children’s school vacations.
They said they are prepared.
Chiddix Junior High School Associate Principal Jennifer Hamilton, who interviewed candidates at the job fair, said, “I think the candidate pool is strong.”
- A valid Illinois teaching certificate, if you have one. One is not required for substitute teaching.
- Evidence of a bachelor’s degree (sealed official transcript)
- If you do not hold a valid teaching certificate, a completed application for substitute teaching certificate, which requires a fee
- Complete certificate registration form
- Evidence of recent medical/physical (within previous 90 days)
- Evidence of a recent negative T.B. test (within previous 90 days)
- Fingerprint criminal background check
- Statewide sex offender database check
- Statewide child murderer and violent offender against database check
NORMAL — Susan Grimes of Bloomington missed teaching, so she thought being a substitute would be the answer — until she found out how much it would cost her.
With all of the medical tests, background checks and certification requirements she would have to pay for upfront, she would have to substitute for three full days just to break even. If she didn’t have her teaching certificate, which many substitutes don’t have, the fees would have been hundreds of dollars more.
“I wasn’t so interested,” Grimes said.
Being a substitute teacher these days is harder and more expensive than it used to be, and that has created a shortage school districts are trying to fill by recruiting more people to do the job.
For example, Grimes, who taught English as a Second Language as a volunteer tutor for 13 years, attended a job fair this week sponsored by McLean County Unit 5. The Normal-based district was looking for substitutes, teaching assistants, food service personnel, custodians and others.
Within the first two hours, eight people had been interviewed for substitute and teaching assistant jobs. Some, like Grimes, found out being a substitute wasn’t for her.
“It’s a hard job,” said Diane Wolf, assistant superintendent for the Regional Office of Education for DeWitt, Livingston, McLean counties. It’s far from just baby sitting students, she said.
[ROE site]
[ISBE Substitute Teaching Certification]
[ISBE Licensure FAQ]
[ISBE Certification Application Form]
[Illinois Licensure Testing site] - with documents explaining TAP test
Nate Cunningham, Unit 5 assistant superintendent of human resources, attributes the decline in the substitute pool to a combination of a stronger economy, a recent change in state requirements for how substitutes are licensed and how the timing of that sudden state policy change hit the regional offices of education.
At one point, Unit 5’s substitute pool was as low as 246 people, but it has rebounded to about 290 now. That’s still well below the 400 Cunningham would like to have on hand for covering holiday seasons, flu outbreaks and times when teachers are required to be out of the building.
While Bloomington District 87 doesn’t have “too many unfilled positions” with a substitute pool of about 226, there are specific days and specific classrooms where there is an unmet need, said Superintendent Barry Reilly. For example, he said it’s harder to find substitutes in specialized areas such as special education.
Some people left the substitute pool because they got full-time jobs elsewhere, and many longtime subs were angry about the new requirements and quit, Cunningham said.
A state law passed last year requires substitute teachers to pay for their own fingerprint and police background checks. School districts often absorbed those costs in the past.
Candidates also must prove they have had physicals and tuberculosis tests within the past 90 days.
If a candidate has a bachelor’s degree but not a teaching certificate, he or she must obtain — and pay for — substitute teaching certification. That alone can cost $500.
While the requirements have increased for the job, the pay hasn’t, said Reilly. Both Unit 5 and District 87 still pay $80 a day.
Before 2012, individual schools handled processing their own substitute teachers, but now the regional office of education handles the paperwork for the districts. Since July, the regional office in Bloomington processed 325 substitutes for DeWitt, Livingston and McLean counties.
December graduations have brought some new applicants this month. One such graduate attending Unit 5’s job fair was Isaac Shields of Pontiac.
“I know it’s a process,” he said of all the requirements, adding he was glad to met officials at the job fair. “Now I’m more than a name on a screen.”
Then there were candidates at the job fair like Angela Roop-Lawler of Bloomington, who retired about three years ago after teaching for 35 years in Rantoul, and Ann Gullixon of Bloomington, a stay-at-home mother who wants to have time off that coincides with her young children’s school vacations.
They said they are prepared.
Chiddix Junior High School Associate Principal Jennifer Hamilton, who interviewed candidates at the job fair, said, “I think the candidate pool is strong.”
Becoming a sub
Applicants for a substitute teaching job in Illinois must present the following to their Regional Office of Education:- A valid Illinois teaching certificate, if you have one. One is not required for substitute teaching.
- Evidence of a bachelor’s degree (sealed official transcript)
- If you do not hold a valid teaching certificate, a completed application for substitute teaching certificate, which requires a fee
- Complete certificate registration form
- Evidence of recent medical/physical (within previous 90 days)
- Evidence of a recent negative T.B. test (within previous 90 days)
- Fingerprint criminal background check
- Statewide sex offender database check
- Statewide child murderer and violent offender against database check
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