Concern over substitute teacher shortages in Ogden

SALT LAKE CITY — School districts across Utah report trouble filling all their substitute teacher needs, but in some areas, it’s harder than others. 

ESS Substitute Teacher Services provides substitute teachers for 4 school districts and 2 charter schools. They say it’s particularly hard to find a willing substitute teacher in Ogden.

Vice President of Operations for ESS, Joseph Fitzgerald said, “We don’t have a high fill rate in Ogden. We definitely need people in that area.” 

Fitzgerald suspects one reason may be because the people available to work as a substitute teacher in Ogden tend to skew older than substitutes in other areas such as Alpine and Utah County, where they are not having a problem getting substitutes into the classrooms.

“I know in Alpine we have skewed younger of our sub-pool, which has helped us, where Ogden has skewed older… individuals have been more hesitant to work because of more risk,” Fitzgerald states. 

Fitzgerald went on to say, “I actually was advocating that it was more important to vaccinate substitutes over full-time teachers because substitutes could be in five different buildings in the same week.” 

“Every school district that we have worked they have included our staff to have access to the vaccine,” said Fitzgerald. 

Read more: 

• Do substitute teachers need sensitivity training? A new bill would require it
• Salt Lake City School District faces substitute teacher shortage
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