{"id":124038,"date":"2022-02-24T14:36:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T19:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/cchl\/?p=124038"},"modified":"2022-02-24T14:36:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-24T19:36:14","slug":"students-sub-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/cchl\/2022\/02\/24\/students-sub-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Students Sub In"},"content":{"rendered":"

After her first day as a substitute teacher, Tiana Fedor, a junior majoring in Teacher Education, walked out of a kindergarten classroom, got into her car and burst into tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was happy tears,\u201d she says. \u201cI called my mom, and I told her I was crying. She was like, \u2018That\u2019s how you know that\u2019s your passion, that you love it that much. That\u2019s why it\u2019s emotional.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Fedor agrees and recalls thinking: \u201cThis is definitely what I\u2019m supposed to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olga Ramirez\u2019s proud parents gave her a \u201cTeacher\u201d mug to celebrate her first day on the job as a substitute. The Montclair State University junior also has two other prized possessions: artwork of her carrying her \u201cteacher things\u201d in a purse created by her 7-year-old sister, America, who wants to follow in her sister\u2019s footsteps and become a teacher, and a kindergarten student\u2019s scrawled sign saying \u201cHappy holidays, Miss Ramirez.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the first drawing from my student,\u201d she says. \u201cI was a stranger to them. So, the fact that I was able to make that one-on-one connection with that student was heartwarming because he didn\u2019t have to do that for me. But it filled me with joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Drawing
Montclair junior Olga Ramirez treasures a drawing of her carrying her \u201cteacher things\u201d by her 7-year-old sister, America, and a kindergartner-scrawled sign that reads \u201cHappy holidays, Miss Ramirez\u201d from her first day as a substitute teacher.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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\"holiday<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Subbing Initiative<\/h2>\n

Fedor and Ramirez, both 20, already are certified as substitutes and are gaining valuable classroom experience after completing the University\u2019s new Substitute Recruitment Initiative, more commonly known as SubIN, last fall. The two were eligible to become certified because they met the age and college credits requirements. (In October 2021, the state reduced the requirement from 60 college credits to 30 to help address the dearth of substitute teachers exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The shortage is not limited to New Jersey, as teachers are needed nationwide.) In addition, every substitute teacher candidate must pass a criminal background check and be a U.S. citizen or have a work visa to become certified in New Jersey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is an incredible shortage of substitutes, which is, of course, related to a shortage of regular staff,\u201d says Caroline Murray, assistant director of the Center of Pedagogy. \u201cWe are short of teachers in a way in my 25 years in New Jersey, I\u2019ve never seen. And in my 18 years [at Montclair State], we\u2019ve never seen this level of being short staffed.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was during a phone conversation with a colleague about the need for substitutes that Murray came up with the idea for the program last fall. So, she and her Montclair colleagues, Marilyn Davis, director of the Montclair State University Network for Educational Renewal, and Rhena Jasey-Goodman, induction coordinator for the Urban Teacher Residency, assisted by Rebecca Goldstein, associate professor in the Teaching and Learning Department, got to work and developed the program by mid-October. After several student information sessions, they launched the first SubIN training in November. Of the 163 undergraduate and graduate students from programs across campus who attended the sessions, 116 signed up for SubIN, according to Murray. Of those, 71 are in or planning to apply to teacher education and 45 are majoring in other disciplines, she says. Also of that total, 74 have completed the three-hour SubIN training and 15 already have begun subbing in classrooms. Those who have completed the training are diverse, with roughly half being students of color.<\/p>\n

\"Caroline
Left to right: Caroline Murray, assistant director of the Center of Pedagogy, Rhena Jasey-Goodman, induction coordinator for the Urban Teacher Residency and Marilyn Davis, director of the Montclair State University Network for Educational Renewal, work collaboratively on the SubIN program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOne of the benefits of SubIN is that it is going to give students who are interested in teacher ed more opportunities for experience to make decisions about what certification program they want to do and to be able to successfully interview for the program,\u201d Murray says.<\/p>\n

SubIN is really for any University community member who enjoys working with children, has a passion for a certain subject area, wants to gain transferable skills, wants to contribute to their community at a time of need and is looking for flexibility. Participants are provided with workshops on how to apply for their substitute license, as well as an intensive three-hour training session. The training is led by Angela Piombo, a career educator and administrator who currently mentors beginning teachers. Piombo covers the nuts and bolts of subbing, along with everything from safety training and classroom management to how to dress and how to make a good impression with the principal. Both Feder and Ramirez say the SubIN training was helpful and gave them the confidence they needed when walking into the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe [Piombo] really prepared us\u2026so we wouldn\u2019t show up the first day and be like, \u2018Oh my goodness, what\u2019s going on?\u2019\u201d says Feder. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for her, I would honestly probably be lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ramirez agrees. Although she already had her substitute certification, Ramirez participated in the SubIN program to learn \u201ctips and tricks to be able to use in the classroom.\u201d She found it beneficial, particularly the discussions and exchange of ideas among participants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was what taught me the most because sometimes you think of a situation through one perspective but going to the workshop helped me see the situation from different perspectives because everybody was providing solutions to solve one problem,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s multiple ways that I\u2019m able to use that now to substitute, so it was really great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feder and Ramirez recommend the program and subbing, noting that it provides maximum flexibility, helps make connections for possible future employment opportunities, allows one to try different grade levels to see which appeals to them (they both want to teach younger children), and pays more than minimum wage jobs. Subs can earn from $125 to more than $200 a day, depending on the school district.<\/p>\n

For Feder, it meant she no longer had to babysit or dog sit for $10-$12 an hour, she says, adding that she was able to sub regularly in her hometown of Monroe Township while on winter break. Meanwhile, Ramirez was able to scale back on her hours at Marshalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is better than students often typically are making in other kinds of roles. And it\u2019s giving them this fantastic experience,\u201d Murray says. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a win for our partner districts, but it\u2019s a win for students at the University who need flexible work options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advantages of subbing<\/h2>\n

One of the places students can substitute is Montclair\u2019s Bradford Elementary, the University\u2019s magnet school, which is within walking distance of campus. Principal Frances Aboushi, who took the school\u2019s helm last May, hosted a substitute teacher open house at Bradford last November. In addition to getting substitutes for her school, Aboushi says, the students can sub at any of the 11 campuses in Montclair Public Schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe demand is great,\u201d she says. \u201cEven before the pandemic. It wasn\u2019t as dire as it is now but you\u2019re always in need of subs; you could have eight people out in one day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another plus for substitutes: They can pick and choose when and where they work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are in the system, that means anybody who puts in for a sub, you will get the notification,\u201d Aboushi explains. \u201cFor example, you\u2019ll get notified that there is a request for a sub in Bradford or Montclair High School or Renaissance Middle School for a particular grade. You either can take it or you just ignore the notification.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Frances
Bradford Elementary Principal Frances Aboushi says the need for substitute teachers is dire and that she hopes SubIN becomes a permanent program.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Aboushi says she hopes SubIN becomes a permanent program because the need for subs is not going away.\u201cI\u2019m completely invested in having this become an entrenched practice in our district with MSU,\u201d she says. \u201cWe need 30 to 40 subs at a time [district-wide]. If you\u2019re servicing 11 schools and right now, we are in a pandemic where the waves hit, and we were already short on subs and staff. The high school has over two dozen people out on an average day.\u201d<\/p>\n

When subs are not available, Aboushi says, \u201cstaff wind up picking up the load to sub during their prep period or their lunch periods and they get paid, so that\u2019s how we\u2019ve been managing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray says that while the University is helping the school district and other districts with a \u201cmost critical piece of staffing,\u201d the program is providing quality training.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not just recruiting students and then sending them out. What we\u2019re doing is training. We have a reputation in teacher education at Montclair State, and so if we\u2019re going to do something, we\u2019re going to do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n

SubIN began with seven partner districts and now partners with 20 districts where program participants can sub. In addition, plans are in the works with the Newark Board of Education to help prepare Newark\u2019s substitute teachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to take our training on the road,\u201d Murray says. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have a special training using the model that we\u2019ve created to help support the subs in the district.\u201d Plans are also in place to provide monthly check-in meetings with SubIN participants who have questions or who would like additional support.<\/p>\n

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\nFor Ramirez, who realized in third grade that she wanted to become a teacher and chose Montclair because one of her ninth-grade teachers was a graduate, the training has proved invaluable, both professionally and personally.\u201cYou have no idea how proud my mom is of me,\u201d Ramirez says. \u201cWhen I told her that I got the job, they bought me this cup that says \u2018Teacher,\u2019 which is really cool because although I\u2019m not a real teacher, they\u2019re coming to the realization that things are coming through for me. Seeing me wake up in the morning and go to school and now teaching, it makes them happy, proud and they\u2019re just like, \u2018We can\u2019t believe you made it this far.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the fruit of her parents\u2019 desire for a better life; Ana Flores and Donaldo Ramirez, whose educational dreams were deferred, came to the U.S. from Puebla, Mexico, in 2001.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The SubIN program was the brainchild of Caroline Murray, assistant director of the Center of Pedagogy, to address the substitute teacher shortage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just living their dream,\u201d Ramirez says. So is her sister Joanna, a Montclair State freshman studying Child Advocacy, who hopes to become a social worker.<\/p>\n

For Ramirez and Feder, there\u2019s the added fulfillment of doing what they love.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I said I wanted to go to school for teaching, it was \u2018I\u2019m going to be teaching,\u2019 nothing else,\u201d Ramirez says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it doesn\u2019t even feel like a job because it\u2019s something I truly like to do,\u201d Feder says.<\/p>\n

For more information on the SubIN program or to attend an information session,\u00a0visit the Center of Pedagogy\u2019s SubIN page<\/a>. The next SubIN training is scheduled for Saturday, February 26 via Zoom.<\/p>\n

Story by Staff Writer\u00a0Sylvia A. Martinez<\/a>, Photos by University Photographer\u00a0Mike Peters<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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