Substitute teaching can be a great job for students, for moms of school aged children, and for anyone seeking temporary or part time work. While pay is usually relatively low, the flexibility and work environment make up for it. Substitute teachers can, at times, work very hard, but there is generally – especially at the high school level – at least a little bit of downtime when you can get caught up on reading, studying or writing. Substitute teaching is also the best way to get your foot in the door and to eventually find a permanent teaching job if you are so inclined.
Landing a job as a substitute teacher is not always easy, depending on the demand in your area. Often, even after submitting to extensive background checks and interviews, you will find yourself on a seemingly endless list of substitutes and will rarely if ever get called. While methods of staffing vary, there are some basic steps you can take to get signed up and actually get called to substitute on a regular basis.
1. Get certified.
This is going to be the first step for everyone, but the specifics will vary from state to state. Many states require you to have at least two years of college, or sixty credits, and to undergo some type of background check in order to be a licensed substitute teacher. If you want to have a substitute teaching job when school starts in August or September, you want to make sure you get your substitute teacher certification application submitted by mid July. Generally, if you apply for a substitute job, the school where you apply will provide you with all of the necessary paperwork and submit it to your state or county. Once you have applied for and received a substitute certification from one school, it will be quicker and easier to apply for substitute teacher jobs at other schools.
2. Apply at many schools.
Go to every school district or private school in your area and ask for a substitute teacher application. After the first one, you can tell them you already have a substitute license, and this will give you an edge. You need to apply to multiple schools because you don’t know yet what each school’s call frequency will be. Substitute teaching at a variety of different schools will make it more likely for you to get regular work.
3. Make personal contact.
Once you are on the coveted substitute list, take a minute out of your day to personally call the substitute caller for each school or district. A lot of people sign up to be substitute teachers and end up not following through, so the substitute caller will be glad to hear your voice on her answering machine confirming that you will in fact be available if she calls. Every time I have done this, I have been called the very next morning.
4. Network, network, network.
One of the reasons that you won’t get called very frequently at certain schools is that the teachers are wary of random substitutes, and so will request substitute teachers they know personally by name when they know they are going to be absent. Use this to your advantage. When you are in the schools, eat lunch in the faculty room. Be friendly. Let the teachers know your name and that you are interested and responsible. Someone may say that very day, “Oh, I’m going to be out tomorrow, are you available?”
5. Don’t say no too often.
One of the great benefits of being a substitute teacher is that, if you are unavailable when you get the call (or even if you just don’t feel like getting out of bed), you can simply say no and wait for the next assignment to come along. Be careful of doing this too often though. If you want to keep working on a regular basis, make sure that you stay on the sub caller’s reliable list. If it becomes clear that you’ll say no for an extra hour of sleep, she may stop calling you altogether, figuring it to be a waste of her time.
