I've been substitute teaching in Palo Alto for the last five years. As a retired Los Altos school teacher I am fully credentialed and have truly enjoyed returning to the classroom on an "as needed" basis.

The lack of substitutes has affected everyone. I have worked nearly every day this year and getting time off is difficult. That's fine but I am very concerned that Palo Alto will remove it's full time substitute supervisor and begin using an off-site, non district "placing" service. That is the one thing that would cause me to leave the substitute program in Palo Alto.

The other issue is job benefits. There are none. In my case (over 65, Medicare) I don't need any benefits but many substitutes are young people "trying out" the education world. We are, in essence, independent contractors doing a professional job with the only benefit a day's pay for a day's work. It might seem like a lot of money but, honestly, the nature of the work and the frequent requirements to teach a full day with no lesson plans means the pay is, ahem, somewhat lacking.

Thanks for listening and if you have any desire to get into the classroom think about joining the pool of substitute teachers in Palo Alto or any other local district.