PULASKI COUNTY, Ark — It's an issue we saw last year during the pandemic and it's a problem that's still here now, not enough substitutes.
Substitute hiring company, WillSub, hosted a training for Pulaski County Special School District on Thursday.
Barbara Hampton, WillSub Regional Account Manager, said she doesn't normally start heavily recruiting until after July 4, but this year they had to hit the ground running early and quickly.
"In the seven and a half years that I've worked for this company, never ever before have I seen fill rates as low as they have been over this past year," Hampton said.
Months before the new school year begins, Hampton said work is already being done to make sure there are enough educators to step in.
"We are recruiting new substitutes for the next school year. We are in desperate need for them," she said.
According to Hampton, the substitute shortage stretches far beyond Arkansas state lines.
"It is nationwide. It is a huge problem. You can never have enough substitutes," Hampton said.
She believes the pandemic played a major role in the drop of applicants over the past year.
"There are people who are just maybe not vaccinated, they're not comfortable coming back into the classroom. So we are going to lose subs this next school year because of that," she said.
For example, the number of substitutes who actually took an assignment in the Pulaski County Special School District in the 2018 school year was 768.
That number dropped to 441 this past year.
Jessica Duff, spokesperson for the district, said when teachers had to quarantine and they needed someone in the classroom, they came up short.
"That's when we had the situation of an entire classroom, grade level or even a school having to pivot because there was a lack of subs," Duff said.
This is why Duff believes that having these trainings in the summer will give the district some comfort.
"To know that we kind of have this pool of candidates that will be available to us, if the need arises once the school year starts, is definitely reassuring," she said.
An important pool of candidates, that Hampton said, schools simply can't function without.
"There're students that remember that one substitute that made a difference in their life," she said.
The next training at Pulaski County Special School District will be July 12.
According to Hampton, the meetings are not mandatory. You can also complete the whole application process here.