T
he West Jefferson Hills School District continuously
strives to provide its students with the best education
each and every day by hiring the best faculty and staff.
However, there are days when our permanent faculty and
staff are absent. So, what can the district do on these days to
ensure learning continues?
The easy answer to this question is to find a
substitute. The challenge is ensuring the district provides
knowledgeable, qualified individuals who can continue
instruction in the absence of a faculty or staff member. This
is especially important when one realizes that a student will
spend approximately one full year of their K-12 educational
career learning from a substitute teacher (STEDI.org –
Substitute Teaching Division, 2016).
While many challenges to addressing this need are
outside the district’s control, such as a significant decline in
the number of people seeking teaching certifications (PDE,
2016), there are areas where the district can take steps to
address this need.
Throughout the coming school year, the district plans to
increase and support our substitutes by:
• Exploring alternative means for increasing the number
of substitutes available to our schools
• Providing training sessions
• Increasing communications that inform substitutes
about happenings in the district and informational topics
• Gathering feedback from substitutes to ensure a positive
employment experience
Substitutes are essential to our students’ learning and the
operation of our district. The mission of the West Jefferson
Hills School District states, the district’s focus is to provide “a
challenging, innovative educational program guided by an
exceptional staff.” The district does not limit this expectation
to our permanent employees, but expects this of all who
interact with our students.
If you are interested in becoming one of our exceptional
staff members, please visit http://www.wjhsd.net/
Employment.aspx to apply for our various substitute
openings or call 412.655.8450 for more information. All
applications for employment must be completed online
through the district website.
West Jefferson Hills | Fall 2016 | icmags.com 39
W E ST J E FFE RSON HI L L S SC HOOL DI ST RIC T NE WS
DR. LINDSAY PFISTER, DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
West Jefferson Hills
The Importance of Substitutes