RCSD holds recruitment event for substitute teachers on Wednesday

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Rochester City School District is hosting a recruitment event on Wednesday for substitute teachers for the upcoming school year.

The event is one of several recruitment events this summer. It will be held at The Mercantile (previously called the Sibley Building) on 240 East Main Street from 3 to 6 p.m. on Aug. 24.

RCSD said that pay rates for substitute teachers range from $128 to $239 per day, based on the number of days worked. The school district is also looking for full-time teachers, teaching assistants and custodians.

News10NBC reported that the school district had 352 vacant positions in early August. Teachers said they were worried that they wouldn’t have enough staff members ahead of fall’s start of the school year.

Through recruitment events, RCSD has filled at least 100 of those open positions. At one of the RCSD recruitment events, we spoke with Pat Carosa who applied for a job as an elementary school teacher.

“I honestly like impacting people’s lives especially in the city school district, especially in the inner city. I like to help them grow and foster them into people that they want to be,” Carosa said.

Christopher Miller, the RCSD Chief of Human Capital, said that the pandemic has impacted previous efforts to recruit and retain teachers, which is one reason for the shortages.