Substitute teachers
get reprieveThe public schools give 1,500
substitutes more time to graduate
from four-year colleges
Nearly 1,500 substitute teachers who were told they could no longer teach in Hawaii's public schools are getting another chance.
The Department of Education has decided to allow them to keep working, as long as they earn a bachelor's degree by June 30, 2006.
"I'm so excited," said Janine Tannehill, a substitute at Hauula Elementary, who was rushing to turn in her renewal papers yesterday. "I'm so glad that they changed their minds."
In March the department announced it would stop using substitute teachers without college degrees as of the next school year.
The move provoked an outcry not only from substitutes, but from school principals who depend on them heavily. Rural schools would have been especially hard hit.
"The majority of our substitutes on the Leeward Coast do not have a four-year degree, let alone a two-year degree," said Levi Chang, principal of Nanakuli High and Intermediate School. "It would have made it almost impossible to run a school next year without substitutes. So I'm very happy that there was a waiver granted."
In a letter sent to substitute teachers and principals last week, Assistant Superintendent Claudia Chun announced the department would accept renewal applications from current substitutes who:
>> Have satisfactory evaluations.
>> Are on the school's Preferred Substitute List.
>> Complete the new, 30-hour Substitute Teacher Course during 2003-2004.
>> Work toward a bachelor's degree to be completed by June 30, 2006.
The letter was sent to 1,450 substitute teachers who lack bachelor's degrees, out of the total pool of nearly 5,100 substitutes, according to Greg Knudsen, spokesman for the department.
The new criteria apply only to teachers now in the system. No new substitute teachers without college degrees will be hired, he said.
"There are substitute teachers whose records have been exceptional; they just don't have a degree," said Knudsen. "This will give them at least some time either to complete a degree or transition to something else."
The original decision to raise the education requirements was part of the school system's effort to put a qualified teacher in every classroom, as called for by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The law, however, does not specify educational requirements for substitutes, giving the department some leeway.
The two-year reprieve will give Tannehill time to finish her degree at the University of Phoenix.
"I'm almost halfway through," she said. "I would have felt really bad if I had to leave, because I love those kids and I love the teachers at Hauula. It would have been like leaving my family."
But for other substitutes, three years will not be enough time to complete a bachelor's degree, and the cost may be prohibitive, said Chang.
"The department is trying to work with the university to see if a program can be worked out for them," he said.