Michigan school leaders decry explosion of untrained teachers in classrooms
The new Michigan state school superintendent and one of his predecessors criticized the growing use of long-term substitute teachers in public schools, saying the practice has grown out of hand and threatens to have a negative impact on Michigans students if the trend is not reversed.
State Superintendent Michael Rice told Bridge Magazine on Thursday the most recent estimate of long-term substitute teachers running classrooms in public schools about 2,500 is a problem.
The goal ought not to be to drop these [numbers] to zero, but 2,500 statewide is not vaguely where we ought to be, said Rice, who took over the superintendent job Aug. 1. Not close to where we ought to be.
Bridge reporting this week revealed the number of long-term, often untrained subs running public school classrooms has risen tenfold in the past five school years. The practice has grown as the number of college graduates going into the teaching profession has dropped precipitously.
Read more: https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/michigan-school-leaders-decry-explosion-untrained-teachers-classrooms