It's a 8:30 a.m. on a Friday and students are just waiting around in front of their classroom, unable to get inside, wondering what's going on with their teacher.

Finally, a security guard arrives and says he can't let students in.

No substitute has arrived. Maybe none has been called. Maybe no one accepted the job.

Whatever the situation, the lack of substitutes at Fremont Federation is a problem, especially close to the weekends.

“So many teachers call in sick on Mondays and Fridays that it’s hard to get substitute teachers,” said Principal Benjamin Schmookler of Media Academy.

David Hudak, who frequently substitutes at Media, sees the problems with the school district finding substitutes.

“Even though the shortage is bad, there’s more subs than last year because of higher wages this year. Subs get paid about $100 to $130 a day,” he said.

Hudak thinks there’s a shortage of substitutes because the job isn’t popular.

“The district is so badly organized that it is hard to recruit people,” added Hudak. "There is a lot of paperwork to fill out to be a substitute. There is a lot of disrespect from the students, teachers, and even from the administrators.”

A substitute who has taught at all four schools on the Fremont Federation campus and who asked to remain anonymous said the reason there are so few substitutes is "because people that have college degrees don't want a job that doesn't offer benefits."

Vice Principal Emiliano Sanchez of Architecture said there simply aren’t enough substitutes. Oakland has a bad reputation and “the fact that subs can apply to other districts as well doesn’t help out either,” he said.

Principal Robin Glover of Mandela thinks that there is a need for a better way to contact the substitutes to make sure they are coming. She estimates that about three out of her 17 teachers are absent every week.

Principal Anisa Rasheed of Paul Robeson said it is easier to cover classes in elementary schools than in high schools when a substitute can't be found She said elementary schools simply spread out the students to other classes in the school if there is no teacher.

Rasheed said part of the problem of not having substitutes could be solved by the teachers.

“Teachers should try to find good subs," she said. "It all depends on advanced notice from the teachers that they’re going to be out of class that day."

Frank Knight, a Media Academy teacher, disagrees with the idea that the teachers should find the subs.

“It’s not my job and it isn’t in my job description," Knight said. "I feel it is the school district’s job to find subs.”

On March 12, sophomore Ana Soakai waited 30 minutes for a substitute to arrive and start her first period class. If the substitute had been on time, it wouldn't have mattered to Soakai.

“I don’t learn anything when there is a substitute,” she said.