Money Has Not Solved the Problem- Personalizing Policies to Attain and Retain Substitute Teachers

The shortage of substitute teachers continues to plague schooldistricts around the country. This shortage has become so severethat many states are eliminating many of the qualifications for teacher certification; currently 28 states allow a person to become a substitute teacher with a high school diploma. Only one state, Iowa, still requires a permanent teacher credential (Jones, 1999). Pay vs. Policy Many districts see the solution to this dilemma as strictly an issue of pay and have embarked on a policy or program of increasing the daily pay a substitute teacher receives. The question is: How successful has this approach been to solving the substitute teacher shortage? While increasing substitute teacher pay has helped, it has not been a permanent solution to the substitute teacher shortage. Some districts, such as Denver Public Schools in Colorado, have been successful by offering more money a day than surrounding school districts. Denver’s pay rate of $111 beats surrounding districts, including Jefferson County, Douglas County, and Cherry Creek where substitutes make $80 pe