BY ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
WARSAW -- Gallatin County Schools lost their bid for state help in seeking additional qualified substitute teachers this spring.
This summer, the district is tackling the shortage, a problem it shares with many other Tristate districts, on its own.
Superintendent Jim Palm and the district's principals will run a "substitute institute" in August.
"We're hoping to improve the quality of our subs and encourage more people to substitute in Gallatin County schools," Mr. Palm said.
The regional shortage of qualified substitute teachers prompted several Kentucky districts to ask the state for permission to bypass substitute-teacher requirements so they could hire additional staff. And schools throughout the Tristate are also looking to solutions to similar shortage problems.
Gallatin County will pay substitute teachers $70 to attend the institute. The district wants to make sure the teachers have the required certification and knowledge of school policies.
"To be honest, I've never tried anything like this before, but I hope it has a positive effect," Mr. Palm said.
In Indian Hill, the district is offering a free, two-day seminar for substitutes that hold a teaching certificate or are in the process of getting one. The August program will offer tips on classroom management techniques, implementation of lesson plans and instructional strategies. Substitutes who attend receive a $75 bonus and priority when the district is hiring substitutes.
In Kentucky, the state agreed to allow five large, urban districts a reprieve. Schools in Covington and Hardin, Jefferson , Shelby and Warren counties will experiment with an expanded substitute program this year that allows them to use parent volunteers, instructional aides and uncertified teachers to teach. These substitutes must complete 18 hours of training during which they will learn school policies.
Under current regulations, most substitute teachers must be certified to teach. In emergency situations, a district could hire a substitute with as little as 64 hours of college credit and a C-plus average.
"The intent is that you would employ those people for as short a period of time as possible," said Jim Parks, spokesman for the state Education Department. "As soon as you could find someone with better qualifications, you would be obligated to hire them."
Gallatin County surveyed the 17 substitutes that usually teach in the district to find out what might make their jobs easier.
Those teachers said they wanted more information on how to deal with students, how to relate to the faculty and how to find things in a classroom or school.
"I don't think you can have too many subs in this day and age," Mr. Palm said. "With (education reform), teachers are required to do more and more outside the classroom. Schools are growing, and there is simply a need for more help."
