Teachers

Since moving to the Los Angeles area in August, I have been following your “Reading by 9” campaign and articles with interest.

As an elementary teacher with eight years’ experience, a two-time grant winner for enrichment activities for my classroom and the holder of a master’s degree in education, I can’t get a substitute’s job in California. Working with my local school district, I was told I have to pass the CBEST (California Basic Educational Skills Test) in order to be put on the substitute list. Apparently, taking the National Teacher’s Exam doesn’t even satisfy the state of California.

If California is really serious about improving the abysmal reading scores of its children, perhaps it should eliminate some of the bureaucratic roadblocks that prevent qualified people in its midst from teaching.

JANET DAIN-FARIS

Santa Monica