According to the firm hired to staff the Philadelphia School District, it is in need of an unprecedented 5,000 substitute teachers for this coming school year, leading to the adoption of a heavy advertising campaign.

The firm, called Source4Teachers, works with 220 other districts around the country, with Philadelphia being the largest district it has worked with yet. It has promised to fill 90 percent of all openings by January, and will begin a rigorous campaign to fill the 5,000 open substitute teaching jobs.

"To staff up quickly, Source4Teachers has launched 'Philly5000,' a four-month campaign that will blanket the area with ads that play up not just its role in creating jobs in the region but also the social value of teaching," according to the Philly.com.

This will include an influx of advertisements seeking substitute teachers through unconventional methods such as billboards.

"To staff up quickly, Source4Teachers has launched 'Philly5000,' a four-month campaign that will blanket the area with ads that play up not just its role in creating jobs in the region but also the social value of teaching," the article said.

Source4Teachers has been met with some opposition from Philadelphia Federation of Teachers officials and retired teachers who have fault with the firm's pay scale.

Though the firm offers health care and retirement benefits not available under the previous district system, it offers retired teachers significantly less pay-per-day than the district did.

Whereas retired Philadelphia teachers had the opportunity to make up to $242.83 per day under the district system, certified subs regardless of being retired teachers or not only have the opportunity to earn up to $110 per day, according to Philly.com.

Spokesman for Source4Teachers Owen Murphy told the publication that "Source4Teachers' rates were more in line with pay rates in surrounding districts, and that the company had the ability to be more creative in paying subs, rewarding those who work often and are well regarded."

Read the full article here and comment with your thoughts below.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

08/31/2015