By Kana Coonce

Contributing Writer

STEVENS POINT – To meet the demand across the state for substitute teachers, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has enlisted the aid of over 70 students enrolled in teaching programs.

In April of last year, Governor Tony Evers signed Wisconsin Act 236, which amended Wisconsin’s existing substitute teacher laws to allow any individual to obtain a “Three-Year Short-term Substitute License,” if that individual meets a list of requirements.

These requirements include: at least 20 years of age; enrolled in a state-approved teacher preparatory program; at least junior standing in said program; and completion of at least 15 hours of classroom observation.

Now, UW-Stevens Point has partnered up with local school districts to provide students with valuable classroom experience in order to combat the pervasive teacher shortage.

Kelly Yeakey is a family and consumer sciences (FACS) education major at UW-Stevens Point who has done “a little bit of everything” in her work so far as a substitute teacher, working in classrooms ranging from special education to choir to those within her FACS specialty.

“I really like the FACS classrooms,” Yeakey said.

Yeakey has known that she wanted to be a teacher since she was little, but found her calling after taking several FACS classes – food labs and textiles, to name a few examples – in high school.

Yeakey appreciates the variety in what she’s exposed to across different classrooms.

Besides being able to sub for a plethora of grade levels ranging from elementary to high school and for a variety of subjects, Yeakey notes that every teacher has a different way of running a classroom.

This includes everything from classroom layouts – things like bulletin board setups – to bathroom passes.

“One school had hand sanitizer bottles,” she said of one classroom’s bathroom pass system.

Students would put the bottles on their desks when they left to use the restroom, ensuring even students with the most questionable hand-washing habits could contribute to a sanitary work environment.

Details like these, said Yeakey, have made the experience she’s gained from working in the area’s different classrooms invaluable.

With teacher shortages across the board, school districts have been forced to get creative with their solutions.

In this instance, filling roles with and simultaneously training the educators of the future seems a particularly inspired one.