What happens When a Teacher Leaves Suddenly?

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When a teacher leaves mid-way through the year, It can be hard on schools. This year a theology teacher left, and Mr. Hogan will be leaving soon. So what happens when a teacher leaves halfway through the school year?

Usually when a teacher leaves mid-way through the school year, the administration has known for a while. Mr. Maxie shared that the reason they start looking right away is to not put themselves in a situation where they need teachers and they can not find any.

“Ideally from an education standpoint you try to find people in the spring for fall. As soon as we know we begin to look”, Maxie said.

In some cases when a teacher leaves instead of a substitute coming in to teach, another Jesuit teacher in the same department takes over. The administration likes to ask other teachers in the same department before they find a substitute. 

What happens if a teacher says no? The administration shared that this is what they prefer but they understand if a teacher can not.

“We understand it is a big ask”, Maxie said.

When a new substitute comes in halfway through the school year, there is a curriculum they have to teach. Sometimes the substitute does not know what they are teaching or how far along the class is in that specific curriculum. If a substitute does not know what they are supposed to be teaching, who tells them what to teach?

“Through other teachers who are teaching the same class”, Maxie said. 

The other teachers in the department teach the same classes and have an idea of where that teacher’s class should be. Every substitute Jesuit brings in is prepared to teach.

Mr. Price, a theology teacher, only planned to be a substitute for Mrs. Salzwedel’s classes. When another theology teacher left he took over two more classes. Mr. Price shared how he handled the situation.

“At first I did not have any access to the canvas page so I had to get that but as far as curriculum, I had an idea where to start teaching because I am teaching the same curriculum to four other classes”, Price shared.

The ones who are most affected by a teacher leaving are the students. When a teacher leaves students want to know who is teaching them and what it will be like. When asked about if the administration listens to what students say, Mr. Maxie shared that during the process of finding a new teacher they do not ask for students’ opinions but instead listen to them at the end of the year. The administration takes the end of the year teacher reviews very seriously. If students have an opinion on their teacher the administration wants to listen. 

“We make sure the teachers read and understand how their students feel about the class”, Maxie said. 

Junior Drew Pederson shared his thoughts about when teachers’ leave.

“It is nice when the substitute comes in and picks things up right where the other teacher left off. In my experience when a substitute comes in, it has not been hard to learn from them”, Pederson said.