Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008 | 2:09 a.m.
A trend that is raising concern among educators nationwide — heavy use by school districts of long-term substitute teachers — is well established locally and has been for years.
It is a trend that some researchers think is contributing to declining levels of academic achievement.
In Clark County, one of every 22 School District teachers on Aug. 25, the first day of classes, was a long-term substitute. Las Vegas Sun reporter Emily Richmond, writing for Saturday’s paper, reported that many of this semester’s long-term substitutes — 676 in all — do not have college degrees or specialized education in the subjects they are teaching.
It is impossible to pinpoint any one reason for this trend. A general shortage of certified teachers certainly accounts for part of the problem. Teachers who leave to earn higher salaries in the private sector is a factor. Growth and stretched school budgets, of course, play roles.
The upshot is that schools all over the country have teacher openings at the beginning of the school year, and are relying to greater degrees on filling those openings with substitutes. Some are very good but in total they lack the training to be as effective as full-time teachers.
Although it is not the most researched subject in education, what has been written about the growing use of long-term substitutes generally concludes that student achievement suffers.
Given this conclusion, parents should be notified at the beginning of each semester if their children are to be taught by a long-term substitute. The Clark County School District, however, is now following a policy of notifying only the parents of children who attend at-risk schools.
This raised some concern at Thursday’s School Board meeting. Member Carolyn Edwards argued that all parents need early notification, so they can more closely monitor their children’s progress. We agree.
Ultimately, however, Nevada and other states should begin focusing on ways to reduce the need for so many long-term substitutes.
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