Grant Wood AEA makes it easier to get substitute teaching OK

CEDAR RAPIDS — Audrey Vint, a student at the University of Northern Iowa studying elementary education, earned her substitute teaching license through Grant Wood Area Education Agency, gaining experience in her future career and earning money while she was on break.

While the Grant Wood Area Education Agency — which serves educators in public and non-public schools in seven counties — has had an substitute teacher authorization course in the past, it is now more easily accessible with an online course. The course can be completed in four evenings for $100.

“I was inspired by my own teachers to give back to the community,” said Vint, who graduated from Linn-Mar High School in 2019 and now substitutes in the Cedar Rapids, Linn-Mar and Marion Independent school districts.

To be eligible to take Grant Wood AEA’s substitute authorization course, participants must have either a bachelor’s or associate degree or have 60 credit hours from a regionally accredited institution.

“You don’t have to have a formal education in teaching” to be a substitute teacher, said Nicole Brown, a professional learning coordinator at Grant Wood AEA.

Brown said she hopes the online class enables more people to earn their substitute teacher certification. There are 320 participants who have taken the substitute authorization course out of 701 current substitute teachers in Subcentral, a tool that processes substitutes for teachers at 14 school districts including Cedar Rapids, College Community, Marion, Linn-Mar, Mount Vernon and Xavier Catholic Schools.

Additional fees for licensure application and a background check will be required when the substitute teacher application is made to the state Board of Educational Examiners.

The next class runs from 6-8:30 p.m. July 25, For more information or to register, visit gwaea.org/sub/upcoming-substitute-authorization-classes.

Mount Vernon Superintendent Greg Batenhorst said it’s “a little too early” to say if virtual classes that allow people to learn at their own pace is making a difference in the number of substitute teachers. However, the area education agency “has been on top of the issue” of a substitute teacher shortage, he said.

Fewer people were willing to substitute at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when infection rates were higher and a vaccine was not yet available. While schools are seeing an improvement in the fill rate for substitute teachers, there still is a need.

When a substitute position is left unfilled, some administrators, principals and classroom teachers are pitching in on top of their other responsibilities. The average substitute teacher fill rate for the 2022-23 school year as of March 1 is about 82 percent, Grant Wood AEA spokeswoman Renee Nelson said.

Batenhorst said Mount Vernon schools has over an 85 percent substitute teacher fill rate — one of the best on the Grant Wood AEA. Even so, substitute teachers are needed every day in each of the district’s three school buildings, he said.

Previously, substitute teachers “were taking almost every job thrown at them unless they had a schedule conflict,” Batenhorst said. Today, people are “choosier” about the substitute teaching opportunities. “That’s just the new reality,” he said.

Haley Resewehr, Cedar Rapids schools’ human resource specialist, said the substitute teacher fill rate from August 2022 to March 2023 in the district is 74 percent. That’s about 80 to 100 substitute teachers needed a day in a school district of nearly 3,200 teachers and staff.

That fill rate is an improvement from the 2021-22 school year rate of 60 percent, Resewehr said. She partially attributes this to a pay increase. The base rate for substitute teachers in the district is $17 an hour. After subbing for 10 days — even if it is not consecutive — the pay rate increases to $25 an hour.

“I think the fill rate for subs will continue to get better since we’re quite a ways away from the pandemic now,” Resewehr said.

Those with a substitute authorization can substitute in a prek-12th grade classroom. Paraeducators can be certified to substitute in the special education classroom they are assigned.

Melaina O’Brien, a paraeducator at Center Point-Urbana High, also earned her substitute teacher authorization out of a need for substitutes through the Grant Wood AEA.

“Being in the education realm is motivating,” said O’Brien, who is planning to go back to school for school counseling in the fall. “I see the need for every position in public schools right now. It pushes me to do better and try harder, so I can make a difference.”

Grant Wood AEA also is offering teacher’s virtual ongoing license renewal courses, allowing educators to continue training without having to leave the classroom. In Iowa, educators have to renew their license every five years by completing six continuing education hours.

“It’s hard to find substitutes to send teachers to Grant Wood AEA for professional learning,” Brown said.

The course is free unless an educator needs a re-licensure credit. Then it is $35 for the credit, Brown said. The training courses are virtual and take between one to three hours to complete.

There are currently 41 of these training courses available online and additional courses are being created by Grant Wood AEA staff. Over 300 educators have completed these training courses since Nov. 21, 2022.

“The teacher has the largest impact on student learning,” Brown said. “We want to make sure they have the most up-to-date tools and resources to address behavior and academic needs of students.

“Our staff are experts,” Brown continued. “We are here to help support and provide that knowledge and expertise to teachers.”

Comments: (319) 398-8411; grace.king@thegazette.com