Students sit anxiously looking at one another as they share the unspoken words: “Where is our teacher? Can we leave if they don’t show up?”
Time slowly elapses. Five minutes go by, then 10, yet there is still no teacher to be found. Another teacher runs into the classroom out of breath and is now in charge of two classes, their own and this one.
This situation may be familiar to Coppell High School students.
Coppell ISD has implemented a permanent substitute program for the 2023-24 school year. The decision was finalized in September after seeing numerous classrooms left without a substitute during the 2022-23 school year.
“It was a real challenge and put a burden on our teachers,” Coppell Middle School North Principal Dr. Greg Axelson said. “We would have to get teachers that were on their conference period and that wasn’t fair because they need that time to grade and contact parents. It wasn’t ideal but we had to do it.”
The CISD school board and executive leadership team met with campus principals over the past year to discuss whether they felt that the program would be a beneficial solution to this problem.
“It gave us as principals an opportunity to share what kind of a burden it was putting on the other teachers,” Axelson said. “We told them what exactly the challenges were and they presented us with some options. I think they even raised the substitute teacher pay to encourage more people in the community to take the job.”
The district is using ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Relief) and grant money meant to support lost instruction due to COVID-19 received from the state to fund the new program, according to former executive director of human resources Kelly Mires.
Twenty-two permanent substitute positions have been created to ensure each CISD campus receives two substitutes. However, Coppell High School does not currently have an assigned substitute.
Each substitute works three days a week: Monday, Friday and a third day of their choosing.
“I thought it would be a great way to get back into the school,” CMS North permanent substitute Briana Covington said. “I am still home with my kids a couple days a week but I get to be at a school that I enjoy working at and around people that I enjoy working with.”
While the program has been around for a short time, the benefits can already be seen with a reduction in the amount of classes left unstaffed. Substitutes roles include filling in for vacant classrooms, supporting teachers as an aide and working in the front office if needed.
“As a permanent substitute and former teacher I have seen the benefit,” Covington said. “Sometimes schools need a sub there or someone to fill in. I feel like I have been helpful for the school because I have learned front office work, how to be in other classrooms and I know what I am doing. Teachers benefit from that because they know that I am able and capable of carrying on the work that they started.”
As of Dec. 10, CISD has filled 13 out of the 22 available permanent substitute positions.
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