Substitute teachers - what are the rules?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child's 1st grade's teacher has been taking more than 4 days off already. The class has a different substitute each time teacher is absent.

Not bad for two months of school.

Teacher immune systems take a beating in the fall. If only teachers could be responsible enough to schedule their stomach flu between mid-June and mid-August, right?

+1 The solution is to hire robots. But then what about when Rosie breaks down. Oh well, so much for that solution!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had a sub for the entire year so far. Apparently they didn't plan well enough and we started with 39 kids in a classroom. The principal seemed to think that was OK but after a lot of pushback split the class in two and has put in a sub in a new class. There is a 100 day limit for subs but it looks like it can be ignored by the principal and he has stated we might have her for the whole year. He claims to be looking for a full time replacement but the position is not even advertised.

So short answer, yes, there is a 100 day limit but they can ignore it.

How do you know whether the position is advertised or not? Or whether that is the way the principal finds his teachers?

You all are micromanaging schooling to an alarming degree.

Positions in FCPS are advertised here: http://www.fcps.edu/hr/employment/jobs/

The principal isn't finding teachers. That's the point. If he had an alternative that worked, no one would care. It's when he fails that it gets attention. Advertising a position is so very basic and he chooses not to do the fundamentals so our kids suffer.

An all year sub is not OK. Heck, 3 months is too much.

Or it isn't in the budget. Or it hasn't been approved by Central Office....or....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since you don't know why the teacher is absent so much (and legally can't know), I would tread lightly.

The issue of LT sub is up to the principal, but they cost more. And if the absences are sporadic, that is problematic.

As an example, in K, my DD's teacher started missing a lot of work. Turns out the issue was cancer; she passed away the next year. Now, there are legal protections for people with disabilities (and many chronic illnesses are considered disabilities).

And you say several times, but how many? 3 or 4 in a quarter is not a lot. 10 or 15 would be.

I disagree. I have not missed 3 or 4 days of work in the last 12-years let alone in one 9-week period filled with 4 day or less work days. Unfortunately, since the teacher is more likely female, less likely to be the breadwinner in the family, and seems to be able to take off without repercussion, they are usually the ones that stay home when their child is sick as opposed to the other parent. At my work, if a child is sick, usually parents rotate days off. The exception is the guy whose wife is a teacher, she takes of for sick days, kids' appointments, he never missed work for that.

You realize teachers have to get subs even when they're at school but are attending meetings
Or workshops for the day . Just bc they have a sub doesn't mean they're at home taking a day off.

I always wonder how the teachers with more than 2 kids manage to swing it. Other people can leave work or work from home but let a teacher wake up at 2 AM with a sick child and it is somehow socially unacceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder who chooses the substitutes, 'cause non of them seem to be train to teach anything in a professional way. From 6, just 1 performed a decent job with my child. Most of them were grumpy fat ladies with no energy to teach anything.

Understandable considering the skinny energetic ones are probably the ones taking all of the days off!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had a sub for the entire year so far. Apparently they didn't plan well enough and we started with 39 kids in a classroom. The principal seemed to think that was OK but after a lot of pushback split the class in two and has put in a sub in a new class. There is a 100 day limit for subs but it looks like it can be ignored by the principal and he has stated we might have her for the whole year. He claims to be looking for a full time replacement but the position is not even advertised.

So short answer, yes, there is a 100 day limit but they can ignore it.

How do you know whether the position is advertised or not? Or whether that is the way the principal finds his teachers?

You all are micromanaging schooling to an alarming degree.

Positions in FCPS are advertised here: http://www.fcps.edu/hr/employment/jobs/

The principal isn't finding teachers. That's the point. If he had an alternative that worked, no one would care. It's when he fails that it gets attention. Advertising a position is so very basic and he chooses not to do the fundamentals so our kids suffer.

An all year sub is not OK. Heck, 3 months is too much.

Or it isn't in the budget. Or it hasn't been approved by Central Office....or....

Really?

A teacher for each classroom not in the budget? I don't buy that

Central office not approving? All the principal has to do is say that and 20 sets of parents will help him by calling our district rep. Seriously, why would we let a bunch of bureaucrats get in the way.

He sent a note home saying he was trying to hire a teacher (poor planning aside).

Do you think he's lying? I give him the benefit of the doubt and consider him honest, if not completly competent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had a sub for the entire year so far. Apparently they didn't plan well enough and we started with 39 kids in a classroom. The principal seemed to think that was OK but after a lot of pushback split the class in two and has put in a sub in a new class. There is a 100 day limit for subs but it looks like it can be ignored by the principal and he has stated we might have her for the whole year. He claims to be looking for a full time replacement but the position is not even advertised.

So short answer, yes, there is a 100 day limit but they can ignore it.

How do you know whether the position is advertised or not? Or whether that is the way the principal finds his teachers?

You all are micromanaging schooling to an alarming degree.

Positions in FCPS are advertised here: http://www.fcps.edu/hr/employment/jobs/

The principal isn't finding teachers. That's the point. If he had an alternative that worked, no one would care. It's when he fails that it gets attention. Advertising a position is so very basic and he chooses not to do the fundamentals so our kids suffer.

An all year sub is not OK. Heck, 3 months is too much.

So no maternity leave for teachers bc 3 months leave time is 'too much?'

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since you don't know why the teacher is absent so much (and legally can't know), I would tread lightly.

The issue of LT sub is up to the principal, but they cost more. And if the absences are sporadic, that is problematic.

As an example, in K, my DD's teacher started missing a lot of work. Turns out the issue was cancer; she passed away the next year. Now, there are legal protections for people with disabilities (and many chronic illnesses are considered disabilities).

And you say several times, but how many? 3 or 4 in a quarter is not a lot. 10 or 15 would be.

I disagree. I have not missed 3 or 4 days of work in the last 12-years let alone in one 9-week period filled with 4 day or less work days. Unfortunately, since the teacher is more likely female, less likely to be the breadwinner in the family, and seems to be able to take off without repercussion, they are usually the ones that stay home when their child is sick as opposed to the other parent. At my work, if a child is sick, usually parents rotate days off. The exception is the guy whose wife is a teacher, she takes of for sick days, kids' appointments, he never missed work for that.

You realize teachers have to get subs even when they're at school but are attending meetings/
Or workshops for the day . Just bc they have a sub doesn't mean they're at home taking a day off.

This happens a lot at our school. I bet 3 days already. It irritates me but it's not the teachers fault.

[Anonymous]

I'm actually more concerned with the terribly low level of education required to be a sub. It's shocking to me. No college graduates required.
http://www.fcps.edu/hr/employment/subs/applicants_new.shtml

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm actually more concerned with the terribly low level of education required to be a sub. It's shocking to me. No college graduates required.
http://www.fcps.edu/hr/employment/subs/applicants_new.shtml

Short-term subs are generally (not always) useless in the classroom. I am fortunate to have an Instructional Assistant in my self-contained classes who is competent enough to run the class while I am out so that instruction can continue. I've actually had subs come in for my IA when she's been out and they do nothing but surf the net on their phone all period. Or read a magazine. Or fall asleep.

Long-term subs SHOULD be better vetted but aren't always. First time I was out on maternity leave my sub was a moron. Kids learned nothing. I was so frustrated. Second time I was out on maternity leave I found my own long term sub who was fantastic.

[Anonymous]

^^^ Forgot to add that my mom is a sub and she used to be a teacher. So she has a lot of experience. She's got a handful of people who she has subbed for who call her on a regular basis. They know that she knows how their classroom is run and can do the job with minimal difficulty. Interestingly enough...one of the women she subbed for on a fairly regular basis was an ELL teacher who was pulled out of the classroom SO MUCH for conferences, testing, training, etc, that she ended up deciding to just leave that school. She wasn't getting to spend any time in the classroom anymore b/c admin was pulling her in so many different directions. She still teaches the same thing but somewhere else now with not nearly as many outside demands.

So consider that a teacher who is frequently out might be in a similar situation. At my last (Title 1) school I was frequently asked to attend trainings on the new "latest and greatest" fad that would help kids living in poverty suddenly achieve their academic dreams. I was also asked to attend useless IB trainings, was pulled for scoring VGLA binders (back when VGLA was still a thing for math), was pulled constantly to attend IEP and re-evaluation meetings, etc. It got to the point where I started turning down anything that wasn't an absolute requirement for me to attend b/c they wanted me out of my classroom so much. I couldn't afford for my kids to fall behind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm actually more concerned with the terribly low level of education required to be a sub. It's shocking to me. No college graduates required.
http://www.fcps.edu/hr/employment/subs/applicants_new.shtml

It's a question of supply. If you want to hire a college grad, you need to offer a decent rate of pay. Subs get a pittance and no benefits even if they work every day. In exchange, they deal with riled up kids in an unfamiliar setting without the support of colleagues. I'd steer clear of that, too.

MCPS requires a degree and briefly required a teaching certificate for newly hired subs. The pool shrank too small to met demand. They had to relax the certification rule just to ensure enough subs to cover teacher absences at low volume times, let alone high absentee days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've had a sub for the entire year so far. Apparently they didn't plan well enough and we started with 39 kids in a classroom. The principal seemed to think that was OK but after a lot of pushback split the class in two and has put in a sub in a new class. There is a 100 day limit for subs but it looks like it can be ignored by the principal and he has stated we might have her for the whole year. He claims to be looking for a full time replacement but the position is not even advertised.

So short answer, yes, there is a 100 day limit but they can ignore it.

Sunrise Valley?

Yes.

Wow! I used to teach there. Surprised they would hire a principal not on top of things after the one that was there previously. Anyway, sorry for your frustrations, OP. As a parent of an elementary school age child who spent half of K with a sub, I get it. However, as a teacher who was put on bedrest for several months prior to baby delivery... sometimes these things are hard to control. I have an awful time getting good long term subs with pretty much zero help from admin. When I formerly taught in another state, the school system had someone who's job it was to line up subs. It was awesome and much better than the system here. My advice is to keep pushing the principal or request a classroom change.

[Anonymous]

The problem with Subs are 1) they are not teachers, and 2) they are paid next to nothing. There is not a requirement to be a college graduate.

With that said, for longer term absences, they will often get a more qualified sub (if they can find on). A few years ago, while I was contemplating a career switch to teaching, I tried subbing in addition to my regular job -- only because I was able to find a longer-term gig in the field I wanted to teach (and am educated in).

My take away was the work was hard and tiring. It paid next to nothing (which was ok; I was using vacation time from my primary job for the month).

If you want good Subs, you have to pay more. Instead, the county is planning on cutting sub's salaries.

[Anonymous]

a long term sub (i.e. all year) should be a qualified teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since you don't know why the teacher is absent so much (and legally can't know), I would tread lightly.

The issue of LT sub is up to the principal, but they cost more. And if the absences are sporadic, that is problematic.

As an example, in K, my DD's teacher started missing a lot of work. Turns out the issue was cancer; she passed away the next year. Now, there are legal protections for people with disabilities (and many chronic illnesses are considered disabilities).

And you say several times, but how many? 3 or 4 in a quarter is not a lot. 10 or 15 would be.

I disagree. I have not missed 3 or 4 days of work in the last 12-years let alone in one 9-week period filled with 4 day or less work days. Unfortunately, since the teacher is more likely female, less likely to be the breadwinner in the family, and seems to be able to take off without repercussion, they are usually the ones that stay home when their child is sick as opposed to the other parent. At my work, if a child is sick, usually parents rotate days off. The exception is the guy whose wife is a teacher, she takes of for sick days, kids' appointments, he never missed work for that.

See in my family it's the opposite. The spouse who is not a teacher covers more sick days/doctor's appointments because he doesn't have to make arrangements for a sub