ANSWER:

The Office of Human Resources and Development (OHRD) actively has implemented several new ways to attract, interview, and hire substitutes for MCPS. There are currently 2,354 active substitutes. To increase the number of qualified substitutes, OHRD hires 50–100 new substitutes every month.

To support active recruitment and hiring of substitutes, OHRD hosts Substitute Teacher Job Fairs monthly to increase the number of substitutes available for teachers to use when they are absent from school. OHRD utilizes school-based ambassadors such as assistant principals, administrative secretaries, and staff development teachers to conduct substitute interviews. School-based ambassadors are encouraged to extend an invitation to any of the substitute candidates to work in their building to support the filling of open substitute jobs.

In addition, central office staff volunteer four to five days during the school year to serve as substitutes. OHRD works with the central office employees to identify schools with substitute openings to assign to open jobs.

Last year, OHRD hosted a Substitute Teacher Seminar and will do so again this year. The Substitute Teacher Seminar is a paid professional development opportunity for substitutes to participate and learn more about cultural proficiency, technology used in the classroom, supporting the needs of special education students, and safety and security. The topics of the Substitute Teacher Seminar are applicable to the daily role of the substitute and increases their capacity and confidence, which ultimately, is an immediate benefit to students.

Moving forward, OHRD will explore additional options to leverage technology to address teacher absences.