As we continue to feel the impact of the shortage of substitute educators, we know that part of the solution is to support and appreciate our substitute educator colleagues. 

Each month our PAT Substitute Educators Committee discusses working conditions for substitute educators. We ask our substitute educator members this:  “Which buildings provided a positive work experience and which buildings were difficult to serve?”  We use this information to present at Contract Administration meetings with PPS HR regarding administrative best practices. 

Some building administration don’t seem to understand how important it is to support substitute educators. However, some do a great job supporting guest teachers: Benson and Woodmere administrators and office staff were recognized for being really fantastic.  At these schools, administrators and/or office staff regularly helped provide breaks for the substitutes, made sure they got keys, and even provided the guest educator coffee and cookies.  

In most reports, it was the professional educators in the building who made the teaching experience for substitute educators a positive one.  On their behalf, thank you to all of you who make these efforts, and a special thanks to the professional educators in Lewis, Roosevelt, Franklin, and Hosford who were mentioned as staff who went above and beyond to assist the visiting PAT Substitute educators in their building.  Substitute educators in these buildings reported that teachers regularly stopped by their classes to make sure things were going well, assisted them with printing, and showed them where to find materials in the room they were assigned.