Gasconade R-2 Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jeri Kay Hardy said Thursday that the district has initiated one new substitute teacher under the new alternative education route that was filed Aug. 19 and implemented on Sept. 2 by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

“We have trained one of our substitute teachers who have gone through this process,” Hardy said. “Before the content certificate, substitute teachers had to have 60 credit hours (to be a fill-in educator).”

According to a press release from DESE, the department was able to change established rules through a proposed amendment and an emergency rule. The established rule previously required substitute teachers to possess 60 semester hours or more of college-level credit from a DESE-recognized and regionally accredited academic degree-granting institution.

To take advantage of the alternative education rule, a prospective substitute teacher would have to complete 20 hours of DESE approved online training. Additional training includes substitute teacher online training to be eligible for a substitute certificate. The training includes topics such as professionalism, honoring diversity, engaging students, foundational classroom management techniques, basic instructional strategies, supporting students with special needs, and working with at-risk youth.

“Once you have completed that, you have to have fingerprinting done,” Hardy said. “After that, they will issue you a substitute teaching certificate.”

The Gasconade County R-2 School District has an additional process of substitute training before the perspective educator can be in the classroom.

“You can come in and apply prior, but you can’t be a sub until you have that certificate,” Hardy said. “In our district, we do provide substitute teachers with a handbook with information for the district, state-required training through state mandates, and Smarter Adults, Safer Children liability insurance.”

Additionally, substitute teachers are trained in ALICE, bullying prevention, and Title 9.

“We are encouraging substitutes to apply,” Hardy said. “We welcome them as long as they have their certification and go through the training.”

A candidate must have the above alternative education requirements and be at least 21-years-old. The only exception to the 21-years-of-age rule is if the candidate has at least 60 accredited college hours.

“If they are under 21-years-old, DESE has to give them a sub certificate,” Hardy said.

Paul Katnik, DESE assistant commissioner for the Office of Educator Quality, said this process began because of a declining number of candidates entering the education profession, and administrators expressed concern about the shortage of substitute teachers, especially during the 2020-21 school year due to COVID-19.

“With already a declining number of candidates entering the education profession, this option will help Missouri school districts and charter schools develop a deeper pool of substitute teachers both in the short-term and long-term,” Katnik said.

Hardy added that substitute teaching is a good way to earn extra funds in addition to a steady job.

“Substitutes have a lot of flexibility and it is a way to make extra money. Some may only be able to substitute on Monday and Thursday or only want certain grade levels. You can put your preferences in so you only get calls for those grades or buildings,” Hardy said. “You are not going to get calls for buildings you are not interested in.”

Hardy added that the need for an alternative education option hasn’t just been because of COVID-19 — started years ago as custodians, drivers, substitute teachers, and classroom teachers became more scarce.

“We have been seeing a decline for several years and this is something DESE has put into place to try to address some of these shortages,” Hardy said. “This took effect right before school started, Aug. 19. We had new-teacher training Aug. 11 and Aug. 20. We weren’t even two sub training days in within the district and we had our first alternative come in on Aug. 20.”

Hardy said the alternative (Frontline) educator went through the district’s local polices but wasn’t able to be in the classroom until they went through the state-mandated training.

“My portion of the training lasts around two hours and they have more online that goes with that,” Hardy said. “We welcome the emergency route to certification for people who do have a high school diploma and are 21-years-old and over. If you like children and think you could be an asset to our district, go through that process, and apply. We would welcome you to our district.”

Further changes have been made to assist educators with current teaching certificates.

According to a press release from DESE, individuals with valid Missouri teaching certificates who wish to substitute teach in a school district are no longer required by DESE to apply for a substitute certificate. This includes individuals who hold an initial professional, career continuous professional, lifetime, student services, administration, provisional and/or temporary certificate. There are restrictions on the number of hours a retired teacher may substitute teach. If at any time the educator allows his/her teaching certificate to expire, then a substitute certificate would be required.