To the editor:

Over the course of a kindergarten through 12th grade education, the average student will spend an entire school year with a substitute teacher leading their education. For this to occur, a student only has to average 14 days per school year working with a substitute. Between teacher absences for illness, family illness, professional development and personal leave, 14 days is easy to obtain.

Because these statistics are very real, there is a critical need to make certain that instruction that engages students in learning continues regardless of who is teaching the class. Our students deserve to learn. Our parents deserve to know that when they send their children to our schools, they will learn. Our community deserves to know that regardless of who is in the classroom, students are learning and therefore their tax money is being put to good use.

A professional substitute teacher is, therefore, an integral component of the education system! Your Lee County substitute teachers are just that, degreed professionals … many sport PhD’s, MS’s, BA’s, BS’s, etc. many are retired educators, but you would be amazed by the myriad of professions, experience, and life skills that are represented among our ranks. We continuously seek professional development opportunities to ensure our validity.

And yet, we are the forgotten …

At the Lee County School Board meeting on Nov. 5, these very professional of teachers were again overlooked when the Board of Education recognized all the personnel who deal with the children Lee County … that is, ALL BUT the SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS! This happened last year as well …. and, when called on their disregard, members of the board were very apologetic … how soon they forget!

Nationally, Education Week is Nov. 17th through Nov. 24th, with Friday the 21st set aside to recognize substitute teachers:

Substitute Educators Day, Friday, November 21, 2014, focuses on the importance of substitute school employees. These professional educators perform a vital function in the maintenance and continuity of daily education. In our public school systems, substitutes are the educational bridges when regular classroom educators are absent. They are called early in the morning, take over lessons with short notice, and ensure that quality education is maintained in our classrooms. The professional substitute ensures that time is productive and furthers the student’s learning.

Substitute Educators throughout the United States are seeking to be recognized as the professionals they are. They are seeking professional compensation and development; they are seeking support through collective bargaining; they are seeking partnership with their full-time colleagues in the classroom.

Substitute Educators Day seeks to:

– Increase respect for substitute educators

– Advocate for all school substitutes to receive wage and health benefits for those who work most to all of a full school year

– Receive genuine, continual professional development in the art of substitute teaching

– Provide a reminder for school staff about effective practices to prepare for, welcome, and support substitute educators.

Educators Together, We Do It All!

Marvin A. Goetz

President

Lee County Association of Professional Substitute Teachers