Lowcountry teachers concerned about lack of substitutes as new school year approaches

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD)- We’re counting down the days until school starts here in the Lowcountry.

Many districts are just weeks away from students filling the classrooms, but as we look ahead to the school year, some say they’re concerned about the lack of substitute teachers state-wide.

“It’s vital for us to have subs,” Moultrie Middle School teacher, Jody Stallings said.

Stallings says not having substitutes creates a ripple effect throughout the school, “What you don’t want is day after day someone coming into the classroom where kids have to be farmed out to other teachers or someone else has to come in and sort of babysit the classroom.”

A substitute who works in Charleston County sent me a statement about what she has noticed, saying, “I am aware that Charleston County is a very large county with many schools who may not have access to regular substitutes. I’m sure this is a big burden on the teachers.”

One reason behind these challenges, high school teacher Patrick Kelly says, is behavioral issues from students.

“It’s really hard to walk into a classroom that’s not your routine or your rules, and try to keep learning progressing while the ordinary teacher is out of the classroom,” Kelly said.

Also low pay, “And then you layer on top of that, it’s not a terribly compensated position. That really becomes the perfect storm of hard working conditions and low pay, it’s going to be hard to fill the position.”

However, Stallings says it’s a problem that can be addressed, by being proactive.

“If you have a class and you know there are behavior issues in there, let’s deal with the behavior issues before the sub gets in there, let’s not just leave them for the sub to have to deal with. And then doing everything we can to raise the pay. It is a very difficult job,” Stallings said.

Stallings also tells me he thinks requirements for subs should be strengthened to ensure students are getting quality teaching while their normal teacher is out.

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