Columbus substitute: Your children 'deserve better than having me as their teacher'
Suzanna Hyatt is a Columbus resident, substitute teacher, coach and mother.
Who is in charge of your child’s instruction?
I am. An uncertified, untrained, substitute teacher.
Unfortunately, across the district there are countless open positions being filled by substitutes, many since the beginning of the year, from special education to chemistry and every role in between.
Our only requirement? Have a college degree.
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In Columbus City School’s 28-page Substitute Handbook there is one line found under, Recording Student Attendance that states, “Long-term substitutes may be asked to log/enter grades-ask for access as well as assistance to understand what is being asked of you.”
This is the only warning that substitute teachers may be completely in charge of lesson plans, testing, behavior management, report cards, IEP meetings, parent teacher conferences.
The only thing substitutes are not allowed to do? Lunch duty and summer school.
This is my first year working for the district but my ninth year as a Columbus City School parent. I am a firm believer in public education and that every child should have access to the best possible learning environment.
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Sadly, the inequities in the district do not provide an even playing field for all 47,000 students. I work in a school that has the most devoted staff and dedicated administration.
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I also work in a school that has 30 fifth graders in a classroom that lacks many of the district mandated resources needed for instruction.
To date, at least 75 of our students still do not have Chromebooks.
Gifted services?
It took me making a comment on a Facebook post to get our gifted identified students the support they need and deserve. I have witnessed my school being used as a catchall for multiple levels of disabilities.
Many times, we did not have teachers qualified to meet their needs nor does our building meet the ADA accessibility standards, yet we were told to do the best we could.
With teachers leaving their careers at an unprecedented rate, who is there to fill these rolls?
Untrained substitutes.
With support from my administrator and other teachers I have plodded along the very best I can with having zero formal training in education or a classroom. Our students, my children and your children, deserve better than having me as their teacher.
The district has not prepared the degree holding substitutes that are now in charge of classrooms to fulfill their mission statement, “Each student is highly educated, prepared for leadership and service, and empowered for success as a citizen in a global community.”
We should all be demanding more of the district for the sake of all children.
Suzanna Hyatt is a Columbus resident, substitute teacher, coach and mother.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Opinion: Teachers are leaving and being replaced by untrained substitute
