- He even donates his paycheck to help!
Across the country, the teacher shortage is only getting worse. So, this guy (doctor) is stepping in to do his best.
Dr. Greg Ciliberti said, “Much to my surprise, I found out you don’t actually have to be a teacher to be a substitute. So I became an emergency substitute teacher.”
Ciliberti is a semi-retired primary care physician who grew up in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Jefferson County Public Schools there.
“I thought it’d be a good way to give back to the community,” said Doctor Ciliberti.
He’s been substituting, from kindergarten to middle school, on any subject. On Friday, he was helping at the Cane Run Elementary in one of their kindergarten classes.
“He likes to make those connections with them circulate around the room work with kids one on one and talk with them,” said Cane Run Elementary Principal Christie Horn. “He’s very soft-spoken, kind, just there to help.”
Not only that, but Ciliberti wants to help the teachers as well. So he lovingly donates his paychecks back into the classroom he’s subbing in.
“I’d love the kids to know that there are adults who they’ve never met before who actually care about them and their futures. That would be something I would love to see,” Doctor Ciliberti said.
Ciliberti substituted in a classroom Friday for a teacher involved in a traffic accident, and will be out of the classroom for some time. He is donating his paycheck to help her with medical expenses.
He hopes that telling his story will help to inspire others to help with the teacher shortage. “I think we could solve our teacher problem pretty quickly by just having people who are sitting home bored, who want to do something different,” Ciliberti said. “It is challenging, but it is very enjoyable. I look forward to it every day. I actually think about it when I’m not here, I think, ‘I can’t wait, Friday is just around the corner.’”
If only there were more people in the world like Doctor Greg Ciliberti. What a great man.
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