Officials from the Petal School District are seeking substitute teachers to bolster the district’s teaching ranks for the 2021-2022 school year, and are holding an upcoming mandatory training session for those interested in the position.
The training session will be held from 8:30-11:30 a.m. July 20 at the ReD Lab at 209 3rdAvenue in Petal, behind Petal Middle School.
“Each and every year, we have a need for substitute teachers; that’s just the ebb and flow of any school year, with teachers being out for various reasons,” said Matt Dillon, superintendent of the Petal School District. “It’s important to have quality people in front of our students, and we provide training so they can be best-equipped to handle a classroom.
“In addition to that, our (professional learning community) leaders provide academic assistance to our teachers, along with building-level administrators, for our substitute teachers. That’s all so they’re best-prepared to make that day a successful one for our students.”
All new substitutes must meet several qualifications to teach in the school district, including being at least 18 years of age and having 48 hours of college credit or a passing score on the WorkKeys test. Required tests are Reading for Information, Applied Mathematics, and Writing or Business Writing. Also accepted is the WorkKeys Silver Level certification.
Substitutes also must complete the training session conducted by the district, and submit to a complete background check performed by the Petal School District Police Department. The background check will incur a $25 cost to the substitute.
To register for the training session, visit www.petalschools.com. The deadline for registration is July 15.
“We can’t stress the importance of going into this next school year with those that are willing, and want to come and work for the Petal School District in this capacity,” Dillon said. “That’s whether they’re retired, or whether they’re not in the field of education and just to want to substitute teach because the schedule works for them.
“They can sign up and we’ll go through the proper training and get them ready to be substitutes.”
To be included on the substitute list, substitute teachers must attend a training session every year unless they qualify as a Veteran Sub, which means at least 20 days of teaching in the previous school year.
Applicants are asked to bring a driver’s license and a social security card for the background check. The payment for that can be made by cash, personal check or money order.
“We do (get a good turnout for substitutes),” Dillon said. “As the year goes on, though, sometimes that number decreases and we don’t have as many.
“So all throughout the year, it’s important to have a good pool of substitute teachers to pull from to make sure we have the best opportunities for our students, even when their teachers are not present.”
