Becoming a substitute teacher Michigan can be daunting and confusing. Many people are interested in this career, but don’t know where to start. This article will provide you with the information you need to begin your journey toward becoming a substitute teacher Michigan.
Becoming A Substitute Teacher Michigan
The first step in becoming a substitute teacher Michigan is to complete the application process. You will need to apply through the Michigan Department of Education website, where you should also find all of the information you need about how to become a substitute teacher Michigan. Once you have completed the application process, it is time for you to submit your paperwork and wait for your background check results. You must pass a background check before being allowed to work as a substitute teacher Michigan.
Once your background check has been approved, it’s time for you to take some classes! There are many different options available when it comes to finding classes that will help prepare you for working as a substitute teacher Michigan; however, since these classes are not required by law, some schools may choose not offer them at all or only offer them on an elective basis (which means they must be taken outside of regular school hours). In addition.
How To Become A Substitute Teacher Michigan
“There is a very broad-based perception that there is an acute shortage of substitutes and the problem appears to be getting worse,” said Nathan Burroughs, an MSU researcher and one of the authors of the survey findings.
That same survey found that almost two-thirds of traditional school districts (64 percent) that responded to the survey have classrooms for which they can’t find substitute teachers at least “several times a week.”
When that happens, schools must scramble to fill those classrooms with existing staff – typically with teachers who give up their planning periods (a time when they plan lessons and grade papers) and school administrators, creating a ripple effect throughout the building.
How often that happens is on the rise. Since the 2015-16 school year, the “fill rate” for substitute teachers (the percent of the time schools can find a substitute to fill a teacher absence) has dropped from 93 percent to 86 percent, according to data released to the House Fiscal Agency by EduStaff, the largest school staffing company operating in the state. About 450 districts and charters fill substitute teaching positions through EduStaff.
“If a teacher is ill and you can’t find a qualified substitute, learning is going to be impacted,” said Dave Campbell, superintendent of Kalamazoo Intermediate School District.
The survey, which included responses from 177 traditional school districts, representing 42 percent of the state’s students, was released two weeks after a Bridge Magazine investigation into a growing use of long-term substitutes to lead Michigan classrooms. The use of long-term substitutes – who need only 60 college credits (the equivalent of an associate’s degree) rather than the four-year degree required of certified teachers – has grown 10-fold in the past five years.
The shortage of short-term substitutes revealed in the MSU survey and the increased use of long-term substitutes both are at least partially a result of a growing teacher shortage in some parts of the state and in some subject areas.
A decade ago, schools seldom had trouble finding substitute teachers, and generally those substitutes were certified teachers who were either retired or recently graduated from college and still looking for a full-time post, said Ernest Tisdale, Michigan director for Edustaff.
“Now, everything has switched,” Tisdale said. “There’s a teacher shortage (and) my pool (of available substitutes) is individuals who aren’t necessarily interested in education or have an education background. Eighty perent of my sub pool are individuals who are working to subsidize their income and more money-oriented than anything.”
More articles on long-term substitutes:
- Michigan leans on long-term substitutes as its schools struggle
- Expert: Michigan’s reliance on long-term subs should ‘concern all of us’
- How a wedding planner became an uncertified Michigan teacher for $15 an hour
- Alarmed by long-term subs, Detroit raised teacher pay and offered bonuses
- Michigan school leaders decry explosion of untrained teachers in classrooms
For people looking to make a few bucks, there are places they can make more money today in an era of low-unemployment rates, said Kalamazoo’s Campbell.
Substitute teacher pay in Michigan is typically $80 to $85 a day – the equivalent of about $11 to $12 an hour.
“We just don’t pay substitute teachers much,” Campbell said. “Any time the economy is good, we have trouble finding paraprofessionals, bus drivers, substitute teachers, because you can make more at Costco.”
Edustaff’s Tisdale said the short- and long-term substitute teacher shortage is primarily in urban and rural areas today, but, “if we continue the same trend we’re on, there’s going to be a bigger need and it’ll start to happen in the suburban districts.”
