Plans to use counselors to cover teacher replacement shortages face criticism in San Jose – CBS San Francisco

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SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) Parents and educators in San Joses’ largest school district are unhappy with a plan to regularly bring education counselors and coaches into the classroom to help make up for a severe staff shortage.

They need more advice. The kids have more problems, more anxiety, more suicidal thoughts, more absenteeism, said Crystal Calhoun, spokesperson for the San Jose Unified Equity Coalition.

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A spokesperson for the San Jose Unified School District said the district has about half the number of substitute teachers compared to a normal school year. This made it particularly difficult to find qualified people to cover the classrooms of absent teachers.

Our parents rely on the school system when they drop their children off at school. All our replacements are accredited and authorized to be in this class. And every class needs a teacher every day, said Deputy Superintendent Stephen McMahon.

Before the pandemic, counselors occasionally filled the classroom, but this was exceptionally rare. Under a new agreement with the teachers’ union, counselors could replace once a week.

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Mental health doesn’t follow a schedule. Students don’t just have needs when they’re on campus, said Dana Fate, counselor at Hoover Middle School in San Jose.

Fate says she thinks the district might find a different and better solution to staff shortages that don’t affect the council. She says removing her from her current role, even once a week, would be to the detriment of the students.

We were coming back from a global pandemic. Students are facing a mental health crisis. Much of my day is spent assessing suicide, making safety plans, talking to kids during anxiety attacks, Fate said.

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