Wentzville has been experiencing shortages in a variety of areas from substitutes to full on teachers. Despite the district’s efforts to try and fill every classroom, these shortages have been happening all over the state and country for years.
“Subs and teachers are in very much demand right now, we are short subs almost every single day and part of my job is making sure those classrooms are covered even if there is no sub,” principal secretary Lisa Berghoff said.
Berghoff said that this shortage has made her job a little more difficult, trying to find people to cover classrooms every day.
“The subs are hired by the district and they pick out jobs they want to take but anything left over I have to staff,” Berghoff said.
Every day there is at least one teacher or staff member that is out which leaves open classrooms that need to be filled. However, there are some day’s where the number of teachers out exceeds the number of subs available, leaving teachers having to use their plan time to fill a room.
Unlike some school districts in the area, the Wentzville School District has incentives for people to join as substitute teachers, such as increasing the pay subs get this year and if they sub for more than 30 days they will get a higher pay. The district is also trying to aim at retired teachers to come back and sub.
Retired Holt high school teacher Jolene Wofford was a teacher for 25 years and recently became a sub for the district five years ago. But it wasn’t the incentive that made her come back, it was the experiences.
“I came back to school because of the connection that I got with the students again, you kinda miss that whenever you retire,” Wofford said.
Although many people are focused on the shortage of substitutes, the real reason there is a shortage of them is because of the shortage in teachers.
Albert Swanegan, a five-year substitute teacher in the Wentzville School District, didn’t even start out as a teacher like most subs.
“I was never a teacher before I became a sub, I was the administrator for the St. Louis County Department of Public Health,” Swanegan said. “I’m aware there’s a shortage of teachers and subs, my background isn’t teaching, but I’ve very much enjoyed a whole new chapter of looking at careers and professions, and developing young people.”
This shortage has been an ongoing issue not just around the St. Louis area but around the country.
