STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Blame it on the pandemic, blame it on the need for more, but some school districts are feeling a pinch when it comes to substitute teachers.
"There's a reduction in the number of students who are going into education as a major," said Stroudsburg Area Superintendent Cosmas Curry.
Curry says the district is doing OK when it comes to getting classes covered, but worry grows as the year goes on.
"It will become more of a problem as we get closer to the holidays and into spring. It seems to be more pronounced at those times on a good year, much less a good year, much less a year when you don't have many substitutes," said Curry.
Curry says the need for more subs didn't start with the pandemic, but the health crisis certainly hasn't been helping.
"We saw it before COVID a little bit, but it's not as pronounced as it is now. However, I kind of call it an endemic because it's regional and based on times of the year. It's not horrific, but we constantly advertise for substitute teachers," said Curry.
Curry says the district has a plan if and when there are no substitutes to fill classes using resources from within.
"You go to your master schedule and see who is available on that period. If you have a planning period, we are going to those individuals to fill that slot," said Curry.