HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — With the start of the new school year just over two weeks away, school officials are making last-minute preparations.
That includes trying to hire enough teachers and substitute teachers for students.
“We recruit consistently through the summer to ensure that the everyday absences, the long-term absences of teachers and then maybe any vacancies that do exist that we can fill those,” said Cheryl Courier, VP of the Southern region for Kelly Education.
Back to School
Florida's back-to-school sales tax holiday runs through August 6
Kelly Education works with local school districts to fill open teacher positions with substitute teachers.
“Substitute teachers are really important for continued education right, day to day. If too many teachers are out for whatever reason, and students are put into a hall or an auditorium, they’re not getting that ongoing education that they need,” said Courier.
They’ve been working nonstop this summer to grow their pool of subs to be ready for the upcoming school year.
“We are always looking for substitutes. There’s never enough substitutes,” said Courier.
She told ABC Action News that at the end of the last school year, Hillsborough County had about 1,000-1,200 substitutes, and Polk County had 800-900 on any given day.
They’re still waiting to get the exact number from school districts for this upcoming school year, but the group tells us they’re prepared to fill thousands of vacancies across Tampa Bay.
Kelly Education is still looking to hire about 600 more substitute teachers in Hillsborough County to add to their pool.
“We’re always looking to keep our pool filled so that full-time teachers have coverage. It’s not hard to do; in some of our positions, you just need a high school diploma. You can work as many days or as few days as you want,” said Courier.
“It’s very easy to get started. We have a great team in the Tampa Bay area, and they would love to hear from any who’s interested,” she added.
For more details, visit the Kelly Education website.
