Understaffed school, Overworked staff. 

Being a teacher is hard, but a teacher’s absence is even harder for several parties.

When teachers are gone, someone has to take their place. Rachael Meza, who works in the front office, makes sure there’s someone to take that place. 

“Every morning I fill out my Google Sheet and send it to the staff,” Meza said. “The sheet has every classroom and hour that needs to be covered for the day. Teachers who don’t have a class that hour can then sign up to cover. They usually get filled but if they don’t, I have to email teachers who have a plan (period) that hour and ask them if they would please cover that class.”

When a substitute teacher is unavailable and Meza can’t get a class covered, the class may sometimes need to go to the commons to do their work.

“The only time it doesn’t work is during 3rd and 8th block because of lunch,” Meza said.

Overcrowded classrooms during those hours become an issue. 

“If we can’t find a sub, sometimes we can put them in O8, which is a study hall class,” Meza said.  “We just need more subs, it would solve so many problems.”