In November, Mount Eagle Elementary School principal Jean Consolla couldn’t help but think of a teacher at the school in Fairfax County, Va., Who was about to have a baby.

Since Virginia’s largest school system is short of substitute teachers, Consolla planned to not have a long-term substitute. Some teachers came out sick, making it harder and harder to find coverage. Every now and then, Consola has to fill in.

As she pondered how to cover the impending vacancy, Consolla also believed her son would make a great replacement. Junior at the University of Louisville majoring in sports administration, Julian Lawson Consola was due home for Thanksgiving for 10 days.

If she could convince him to begin the application process, she thought, he would be able to fill the position before his winter vacation began.

During a phone call, Julian expressed his interest and, after completing the necessary steps, was allowed to start work. Now the the school system urges other students to consider become substitute teachers to earn extra money and fill the gap.

“I was looking for a job during the winter break because I knew I was going to go (home) for a few weeks,” Julian said. “This proposal was made that the staff needed to Mount Eagle Elementary School, and this is a good opportunity for me to have a good paying job, it’s a good experience and something that is part of my family.”

Although he did not plan to become a teacher, Julian already had teaching experience. During the summer of 2020, he was an online teacher for students in Grades 3 to 5, and last winter he was tutoring a kindergarten child, helping with an online course.

But his experiences in person turned out to be different, having to teach a program for the first time. From December 10, he worked with third and sixth graders for six days of substitute teaching.

Besides working with them, he liked to hear students brag about being their replacement.

“I have to be very clear with my instructions, how to set expectations as to the sixth grade, when I was running, they knew somehow a level of respect that was necessary,” said Julian. “In the third year, you have to somehow establish respect and how things go (take place), how you approach things.”

Find replacements has been a challenge, said John, and the pool of substitute teachers school is smaller than in the past. Working in schools during college breaks is attractive, she said, because it requires no work at night and offer a living wage.

Apply to become replacing said Jean, is a great activity for students after school, because the tests, fingerprints and document processing can take a week or two.

In a statement sent by e-mail, a spokesman for the school system said that over the years without pandemic, the fill rate teachers alternates County was about 80%. During the pandemic, that number has hovered between 70%, but in the midst of the latest wave of coronavirus, its fill rate is 55-60%.

Short-term substitutes earn $ 17.79 per hour and long-term subscribers get $ 23.91 per hour. For Julian, that meant a $ 600 paycheck on New Years Eve.

“It was a real struggle,” said Jean about the shortage. “It was a stressor. It’s just hard. We just had to make do. It’s one of those things that affects everyone.

At the end of the spring semester of Julian, he said he planned to return to work in the classroom after the snowstorm last week cut short his first pass. Now that he’s back in Kentucky, students are already asking him if he’s considering returning to class.

“Julian ends in late May, it can get off the plane and the next day it may be in a position where it earns more than $ 100 per day,” said John. “He can still go out with friends, he has money in the bank and he’s good to go. It was the push that I had [to] take care of this on Thanksgiving while you’re home. Because when you come back in December, you pick it up and go to school that day.

To help increase its supply of substitute teachers, the school system is organizing a replacement interview day on January 18 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. More information is available online.