Hiring substitute teachers used to be an early-morning calling burden for staff members at schools in Oregon's Coos Bay School District. Now that work has been passed off to Aesop, a service from Frontline Placement Technologies, which springs into action upon receiving a notification, either by call or log-in, from a teacher reporting an absence.…

Teach For America (TFA) aims to address teacher shortages by sending graduates from elite colleges, most of whom do not have a background in education, to teach in low-income rural and urban schools for a two-year commitment. The impact of these graduates is hotly debated by those who, on the one hand, see this as a way to improve the supply of…

Fresh approaches for dealing with the perennial problem of teacher absences. (Author)

Seven commonly held myths concerning the effects of teachers' strikes on school districts are explored. Administrators from 124 school districts that experienced teacher strikes during the three-year period 1981-1984 responded to a questionnaire about the seven myths. The myths discussed include: (1) superintendents leave districts as a result of…

When funds for substitute teachers were depleted in Suffolk, Virginia, administrative staff from the central office were assigned to fill vacant positions. (Author/MLF)

Describes the development of a substitute teacher training program. The process began with surveys of substitute teachers, classroom teachers, and administrators about what such a program would require, following which a committee was formed to make recommendations on program design, materials, and delivery; conduct a literature review on…

Examines the basic law of unemployment compensation and suggests how schools can help minimize liability. (Author/MLF)

The Pathways to Teaching Careers Program was a national recruitment effort started in 1989 to bring teachers of color into the teaching profession. This effort was instrumental in forging the investment of some $50 million for a series of grants that included 26 programs in 66 colleges and universities, located in 43 cities in 26 states (the…

School districts across the country are developing information and special programs to assist substitute teachers. The following examples of such initiatives illustrate creative, often cost effective practices to improve the effectiveness of substitute teachers or to reduce the district's need for them: (1) Many districts have developed handbooks…

Article focused on school district strike plans that are prepared for the atypical occurrences that take place during teacher strikes. (RK)

Advocates establishment of training programs for substitute teachers in the local school districts, along with active recruiting of substitutes. Emphasizes that substitutes' salaries must improve and that the regular teacher should provide adequate information about school policies and procedures, as well as complete class lesson plans that any…

Describes the development and implementation of a mandatory training program for individuals wishing to substitute teach in a particular school system. Describes how this program tries to bring out into the open both the school system's and the prospective substitute teachers' assumptions about the role of the substitute, the classroom teacher,…

This study examined the extent to which Ohio school districts had implemented several policy and procedure recommendations in order to address the problem of perennial substitute teacher shortage. Surveys of district superintendents, who had completed a questionnaire on substitute teacher policy and procedures 3 years before, examined: district…

Fifteen administrative staff members in Prince George's County Public School System, Maryland, volunteered to teach a senior high special education class for one day after receiving an invitation from the Special Education Department. (MC)