SEMO offering program to help locals become substitute teachers

A new group of substitute teachers ready to aid area schools has completed a Southeast Missouri State University program as part of the Missouri Approved Substitute Training initiative.

"There is an extreme need not only for qualified teachers but also for qualified substitutes," Rodney Pensel, SEMO director of Field Experiences, said in an email to the Southeast Missourian. "Teaching, as well as a few other careers, is unique in that if the teacher needs to be absent from the classroom either due to illness, family situations or professional responsibilities someone has to replace them."

The program is available through the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Pensel said it gives individuals without coursework beyond a high school diploma eligibility to complete a 20-hour seminar. The seminar allows enrollees to attain specific training, which then allows them to apply for substitute certification through DESE.

"The Office of Field Experiences has an advisory committee composed of several district-level superintendents. Listening to their needs prompted the (office) to make the application and then write the curriculum and prepare the materials to be presented," Pensel said. "The idea was born out of the needs of the local schools."

Participants need to complete 15 modules in which they learn about concepts such as professionalism, student engagement and classroom management.

SEMO is one of just two universities in Missouri currently offering the courses in person. The school has hosted three courses so far, with the first starting in June of this year. Pensel said 35 substitutes had been trained and the waiting list for future seminars numbered around 75 individuals.

Lexie Holder, a social media retailer from Benton, Missouri, joined because she saw teachers were in high demand and wanted to experience a different avenue of work.

"It was 100 times better than I would have even imagined," Holder said. "I thought it was going to be hard tests and no interactions, but everything was super interactive and everyone was very nice."

Holder said Pensel reassured her that the program would be easy and she said he was dead-on. She already has a position lined up in the Kelso School District in New Hamburg, Missouri.

"I already know a few teachers there, it's five minutes from my house and it's the best school, hands down. I'm excited to join them," Holder said.

She recommended people sign up for the Missouri Approved Substitute Training program if they want to work at the same school their children go to or if they'd just like some extra income.

Pensel said he suspected the program would lead to even more substitutes working in area schools as the school year progresses.

"I do plan on applying for several school districts in our surrounding areas with this certificate," Kristen Barnard, another individual who completed the program, said in an email to the Southeast Missourian. "They all need substitutes pretty bad, so I'll help where I can."