INDIANAPOLIS – As the coronavirus sidelines huge numbers of educators, school districts around the country are aggressively recruiting substitute teachers, offering bonuses and waiving certification requirements in order to keep classrooms open.
Coming to the rescue in many cases are college students who are themselves learning online or home for extended winter breaks.
In Indiana, the 4,400-student Greenfield-Central school district about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Indianapolis made a plea for help as its substitute pool shrank. “I said, ’If you’ve got a student who’s in college, maybe they’d like to work even a two-month thing for us - which would be a stopgap, no doubt - but it will help us a whole, whole bunch,” said Scott Kern,.