Substitute Teachers Contract Approved

by Laura Glesby

After five years without a contract, New Haven substitute teachers officially have a collective bargaining agreement — which will see long-term subs paid roughly $150 per day.

The Board of Alders unanimously approved a contract between the Board of Education and New Haven Federation of Teachers on Monday evening outlining pay raises, professional development support, and job responsibilities for substitute teachers.

The contract extends from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2027. It includes retroactive pay increases starting from the 2023 – 24 school year onwards: an initial 6 percent raise for that school year, and then an annual 3 percent raise until the contract’s end in 2027.

The baseline pay for substitute teachers as of 2020 was approximately $105-$110 per day for short-term subs (depending on their certification status) and approximately $130 per day for long-term subs who have worked for 30 days in the same position and who sign onto the bargaining unit. By the 2026 – 27 school year, short-term subs will make about $122-$127 per day, while long-term subs will make a little over $150 per day.

For Charles Elbert, a union steward and substitute teacher since 2008, the contract is not only a financial win — it means a level of ​“recognition” for the value that substitute teachers bring to the school district.

A contract is a way of ensuring that substitute teachers are ​“seen as an integral part of the school system,” he said. ​“In a time of need, they can count on us.”

Elbert has filled in for teachers of New Haven classrooms across many different age groups, subjects, and schools. For the past five years, he said, he’s served as a long-term substitute at Wexler-Grant School, Metropolitan Business Academy, and most recently, Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School.

His job is more than simply supervising children, he said. ​“I teach.” 

He prides himself in earning the respect of his students and ​“meeting children where they’re at.”

In the coming year, Elbert plans to become a student again: pursuing a degree in teaching from Southern Connecticut State University. 

The contract may help him finance that education. A new provision states that substitute teachers who are NHFT members and who have worked over 100 days in a given school year can apply for the school district to reimburse the cost of up to six college credits in the following school year. 

Elbert said he plans to seek out this support, which is contingent on approval from school administrators.

In addition to tuition support, the agreement includes two days of paid professional development for substitute teachers.

NHFT President Leslie Blatteau said this training may cover school-wide policies and skills such as school lockdown protocols. ​“That is important for school safety,” she said.

The contract also outlines the roles and responsibilities of a substitute teacher, delineating for the first time that substitutes are responsible for ​“adhering to lesson plans to facilitate effective learning” — not necessarily for crafting those lesson plans.

Currently, in some cases, ​“subs are doing the work of full-time teachers” said Blatteau — facing the expectation of designing classroom learning without receiving the pay or training of full-time teachers. ​“It leads to burnout.”

Total Cost Unknown

The exact number of substitute teachers employed by the district — and the projected cost of the contract itself — were not clear to alders or union leaders as of Monday night.

NHFT Vice President Jenny Graves estimated that the district employs around 120 substitute teachers. A substitute who has worked 45 days in the current or previous school year can opt into joining the union. Graves said that the contract includes a provision requiring the school district to keep the union informed about new substitute teacher hires, which she said would help the union ensure that all eligible members are informed that they have the option to join.

At a June meeting of the Board of Alders Finance Committee, Westville Alder and Finance Committee Chair Adam Marchand had asked school leaders for an estimated cost of the contract. As of Monday, Marchand said that he did not recall receiving that estimate.

Still, he said that the cost would likely be low compared to a majority of city contracts due to the ​“relatively small number of people” affected by the contract.

When evaluating whether to approve the contract, Marchand said, he was more concerned with whether the wages amounted to ​“a reasonable amount of money to pay someone to be in charge of a classroom.”

Marchand, a union steward for Yale’s Local 34 who said he worked as a substitute teacher in Missouri back in 1996 and 1997, reflected on the rarity of union representation for per-diem employees. Though many teachers’ and paraprofessionals’ unions across the country cover substitute teachers, that protection is not universal.

“I think it’s really remarkable that the union sought to represent these folks,” Marchand said, expressing support for ​“these folks being treated as professionals.”