Teacher Absences In Hillsborough and Pinellas

Mark Douglas

Reporter's Notes

No Substitute for a Good Education

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In this time of FCAT tests, shrinking budgets, and failing schools, every day counts in Florida's public schools. But on any given day in Pinellas and Hillsborough County roughly 1000 fulltime teachers are missing from the classroom.

Our Target Eight investigation discovered that so far classroom substitutes have already filled in for teachers more than 80,000 times this school year in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties.

By year's end teacher substitutes will cost taxpayers $15 million dollars in those two counties, enough money to hire hundreds of fulltime teachers if there wasn't such a need.

Pinellas substitutes need only a two year degree to lead a classroom. In Hillsborough public schools a high school diploma will do. The position pays as little as $60 a day, not much more than a job at McDonald's.

National education experts say between kindergarten and the 12th grade children spend up to a year of their education in classes with substitute teachers. Students say on the days when subs fill in, learning slows down if it doesn't stop altogether. A Harvard research study of substitutes in the classroom reaches a similar conclusion.

Target Eight discovered that many of the schools with the highest teacher absenteeism happen to have some of the lowest state grades for student performance. There are plenty of other reasons why some schools are failing, but experts say teacher attendance is an important factor for success in the classroom.

There's also a curious matter of timing. In both Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties Target Eight discovered that eight out of the ten highest demand days for substitutes happen to land on Friday. School administrators say there are plenty of explanations for that popular day off which don't involve teachers playing hooky or catching the "Friday flu."

In this report Target Eight takes a closer look at exactly which schools have the highest teacher absenteeism, how well they perform, and what can be done to improve teacher attendance.

Common wisdom tells us there is no substitute for a good education; and though there are notable exceptions, some say there's no good education when a substitute runs the classroom.

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The absences data pertains to a five-month period between 08/21/07 to 01/16/08 for Pinellas County and a six-month period from 08/21/07 to 02/12/08 for Hillsborough County.