Michigan is facing a shortage of substitute teachers and it's having a direct affect on schools.

The Detroit Free Press says the lack of substitute teachers,

...is making it difficult for schools to cope when there are absences due to illness or family emergency, or for those times when a teacher needs to be away for training."

Because of this, in some cases, principals are having to fill in the classrooms when the teacher isn't there.

Billboards have been put up around highways in Michigan encouraging people to consider subbing. Some districts are even offering incentives, such as increasing the daily pay for subbing.

A reason for this decline is because the number of people who are pursuing teaching as a full-time position has declined in itself. According to the Michigan Department of Education the number of people pursuing a career in teaching dropped from over 6,000 in the 2009-2010 school year to about 4,500 in 2015-16. One of their goals in the New Year, is to identify why there is such a shortage and come up with ways to fix it.

According to WOOD-TV, In Kent County, substitute teachers have decreased in every district since 2013.

Currently, in Michigan, a person has to have 90 college credit hours to become a substitute teacher.

EDUStaff is behind the billboards placed around the state and

...provides staffing, including substitute teachers, to more than 300 school districts statewide."

They are hoping to employ several hundred substitutes. If interested in subbing you can call EDUStaff at 877-974-6338.

You can also contact the local school district you're interested in working for.

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