Carey Francis was eager to teach in-person again at the start of the school year. 

“I’m a people person, so it was driving me crazy to do virtual,” the 61-year-old said. 

A substitute teacher, Francis has taught music to students at H.D. Woodson High School in Northeast, D.C. for most of the 2021-2022 academic year. She said she teaches the same roster of students each day because the school does not have a permanent teacher in the role.

The job has included many more responsibilities during the pandemic: she wipes down desks between class periods and constantly reminds teenagers to pull their masks over their noses. But she said her pay — $120 a day, without benefits — does not come close to matching what she feels her work is worth. 

Francis is among a group of educators demanding city leaders boost pay for the more than 550 substitute teachers in D.C. Public Schools. The group, Washington Substitute Teachers United, is encouraging its members to skip work one day each week until the school system agrees to pay them more. 

“We have been working through the pandemic. Some of us have not missed one day,” said Myrtle Washington, who leads the substitute teachers group. “We need to be respected.” 

During a press conference Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser said she only recently learned of the group’s demands and signaled she was open to working with the educators. 

“We’re going to dig into it,” she said. “Our substitutes are a very important part of our team.”

Washington, a long-term substitute teacher at an elementary school, said the group has lobbied for higher pay since 2018, without much success. But the issue has gained greater urgency this academic year as the pandemic strains teaching staffs. 

Teachers are regularly covering classes during their planning periods for colleagues who are out sick, educators say. More than two dozen campuses were forced to temporarily shift to virtual instruction in December, some because of staffing constraints. 

Scott Goldstein, executive director of EmpowerEd, a teacher advocacy group in D.C., said substitute teachers are crucial to keeping school buildings operating. 

“Substitute pay has been abysmal for a really long time,” he said. “We want to make sure substitutes are providing quality instruction for kids and the more we can pay, the better we can assure that and recruit folks who can provide a good education.” 

Substitute teacher staffing shortages prompted D.C. Public Schools in November to offer up to $300 a day for retired teachers who return as long-term substitutes, which are classified people who teach more than 30 consecutive days. Retirees are also promised a $4,500 signing bonus.

The offer to retired teachers caught Washington off-guard – other substitute teachers earn either $150 or $120 a day. She said she feels all substitute teachers deserve to make the $300 rate. 

“We are not angry with the retirees,” she said. “We want the best for them. But we’re thinking about ourselves.” 

Washington Substitute Teachers United is also pushing for benefits for substitute teachers, including health insurance and paid sick leave. They are also lobbying for professional training opportunities. 

The group is encouraging its substitute teachers to take “a day of absence” every Monday to rally for higher pay.

A spokesperson for D.C. Public Schools did not respond to specific questions about whether they plan to meet the teachers’ demands. The spokesperson, Enrique Gutierrez, said the school system increased daily pay for long-term substitute teachers this year. The increase was $30 more each day. 

More substitute teachers are also moving into permanent teaching roles, he added. 

“This has proven to be one of our successful pipelines to permanent employment even during the pandemic,” Gutierrez said. 

But substitute teachers say the school system is still not doing nearly enough.

Francis, the substitute music teacher at H.D. Woodson High School, said she fell a month behind on her rent and electricity bills over the holidays. Substitute teachers do not receive pay during school breaks. 

She said she relies on financial help from her adult sons, who have encouraged her to seek a higher paying job. Francis, who earned a Master of Fine Arts in visual and performance art, said she had difficulty passing a test required to receive a teacher certification.

But Francis said she is committed to teaching students responsibility and discipline through art. She wants to start a drumline at Woodson.

“I love working with these kids and I want to be a part of their lives,” she said.