Appreciation Surprises Substitute Teachers

By 8 a.m. Thursday, Darlene Morrison sat in front of the whiteboard in Room 307, preparing to cover a third-grade class at El Segundo’s Richmond Street Elementary. Shortly before the bell rang, two school staffers delivered a paper plate with a croissant and a few pieces of fruit on it.

The breakfast--leftovers from an event to honor the school’s regular teachers--represented a rare acknowledgment of Thursday as California’s first ever Substitute Teacher Day. Morrison, a 61-year-old who has subbed for the last seven years, managed just a bite of fruit before the class was filled by 20 energetic third-graders, demanding to know if they could make their computer presentations as scheduled.

“Mrs. Trachtenberg isn’t here,” said Morrison of the regular teacher, who was out for jury duty. “And she wants to see your presentations for herself.” That elicited a few groans, which did not stop Morrison from plowing into other lessons.

As a debut occasion to honor a group of instructors who often get no respect, Substitute Teacher Day -- formally proclaimed by Gov. Gray Davis--received precious little of its own. On Thursday, substitutes shared, in relative anonymity, state honors with family child-care providers, wildfire fighters, arthritis and osteoporosis sufferers and nurses. Plus, substitutes were left to bask in the afterglow of Wednesday’s widely acknowledged California Day of the Teacher.

Most subs, including Morrison, had been unaware of the special day. In El Segundo, the talk has been of the district’s Week of Teacher Recognition, during which parents decorate faculty lounges, host a luncheon and wash teachers’ cars. A high school substitute in Fresno reported receiving a mug of candy--left over from a Teacher Appreciation ceremony.

At Field Elementary School in Pasadena, Principal Cheryl Portillo said she acknowledged her two substitute teachers--after a call from a district spokesman, who learned of the day from a reporter.

“It’s kind of a secret,” said Brandi Bakewell, a 28-year-old substitute who took over a first-grade class at Field last week for the rest of the semester. Students, antsy after completing standardized tests, took no note of the special occasion. They criticized her choice of a book for reading (“Mrs. Parsons already read it”), claimed boredom with journal writing and complained of stomach pain.

“The job can be overwhelming,” said Bakewell, a third-year substitute who is a master’s candidate in education at USC. “But it’s steady work, and I feel the need to give back, to serve a large number of African American and Latino students.”

Little noticed as it was, Substitute Teacher Day represented a milestone for a small but growing nationwide movement. Four other states--Michigan, Florida, Oregon and Wisconsin--have established similar days after lobbying by the National Substitute Teachers Alliance. That 2-year-old group also has worked with unions in organizing substitutes across the country. In recent years, bargaining units for substitutes were formed in San Bernardino and the Pajaro Valley.

Shirley Kirsten, the alliance president and also director of substitute teacher organizing for the American Federation of Teachers, said she hoped the day would boost legislation to improve conditions and training. A bill being considered in Sacramento would establish a pilot program to give new substitutes three days of training. Most school districts require no special training.

“California is probably the hotbed of substitute teacher organizing,” said Kirsten, who lives in Fresno. “We’re hoping the day provides recognition and publicity for what we’ve been up to.”

The state government keeps no official statistics on substitutes, but the Substitute Teacher Institute at Utah State University estimates there are 50,000 substitutes working on any given day in California. Geoffrey Smith, the institute’s executive director, says school districts in California typically pay well above the national daily average, which is less than $70, and that Los Angeles Unified stands out: $152 per day, with pay upgrades for long assignments and health benefits to those who work 100 days a year.

In El Segundo, Morrison, who became a sub after retiring from full-time teaching in 1995, says she could work five days a week if she wanted to. She tries to limit it to three days.

On Thursday morning, she was greeted warmly by third-grader Allison Rigdon, who complimented her dress. But the rest of her audience was tougher. “We’re a talkative class,” announced one boy from the back of the room.

Adhering closely to the absent teacher’s lesson plan, Morrison quickly gained control with a spelling quiz and songs that recite the times tables. During a math exercise, a couple of boys briefly hid under a table in back. (“We’re going to have some work from you if you sit under there,” she said.) To keep the class on track, Morrison broke out a series of word puzzles she always brings along in case the day drags.

“Going a little crazy,” she said. “But I’m the substitute. And at least they brought me a few goodies for breakfast.”