Submitted by Westfield Washington Schools
This week’s shout out goes to all the substitute teachers and other people who are going beyond the call of duty to help Westfield Washington Schools (WWS) continue in-person learning.
Heather Kirkley, an instructional coach at Westfield Middle School, gives a shout out to two people in particular: Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources and Safety Chris Baldwin and eighth-grade math teacher and curriculum coordinator Paula Smith.
“This recent COVID surge has made in especially difficulty to fill substitute teaching needs,” Kirkley said. “As a team we have come together and helped step up and fill the gaps. This team includes our central office Human Resource Director, Chris Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin happily stepped in to teach math, a subject that is oftentimes hard to fill in a sub role. He took his job with pride and students were not only able to learn the math but get help from a knowledge resource that spoke about how this concept is useful in life! Thank you, Chris, and all the other staff who have given up their preps to help ALL students learn!”
Many staff members have beeb giving up their 45-minute prep time to help their colleagues and all students learn. One other rock star is Mrs. Paula Smith, eighth-grade math teacher and Math 8 curriculum coordinator. She not only gave up her prep multiple days but even took on two classes at one time because the school was short on teachers. This teacher taught over 50 kids each hour so they could have a math teacher helping answer questions.
With the added impact of COVID-19, staffing substitute teachers has become a crucial factor in school systems’ ability to keep kids in the classroom. If you would like to help continue in-person instruction, sign up to be a substitute teacher in WWS and help make an impact on the community. WWS offers competitive pay, flexible schedules, bonuses and employee discounts based on time worked. You don’t need teaching experience, just a desire to help Rocks students get a great education.
Are you interested in helping by becoming a substitute teacher? Click here for more information.