Substitute Resources

Substitute Resources
NEWS & UPDATES

October 2007 News and Updates

We have a couple of nifty and/or important subjects to cover this month , including a brand spanking new way to get certificated subs into jobs during a “crunch” time (the great thing is that we’ve already had the opportunity to test this and it works!) You’ll remember that we warned you that things usually start out slow, but by late September/early October business starts to pick up for substitutes and, by golly, we were right (we love that – the being right part, but we live with teenagers who gleefully notify the world whenever we’re wrong, so we know that you’ll forgive us drawing attention to our successes).

By the last week in September we were sending out between 250 and 300 subs a day, which is great news for you folks. We’ve even had some days on which we were unable to fill both classified and certificated jobs! When jobs fail to fill you can expect to see our, now familiar, rant about maintaining your calendars; not this time. Want to know why? When we looked at calendar maintenance statistics we discovered that MOST of you were doing exactly what you needed to do and marking your SubFinder calendars just the way we asked you! We’re so proud! Kudos and our profound thanks to you! The tiny minority of subs who quite clearly didn’t maintain their calendars will be getting grumpy letters, but the rest of you are A-plus superstars! Give your collective self a big pat on the back from us.

*NEW *VERY IMPORTANT *NEATO MOSQUITO*

In upcoming weeks certificated substitutes may get a call from SubFinder that offers them a job for a teacher which lists as the subject area “All Call Teaching Assignment for an Urgent Need”. You’ll notice a couple of odd things about these assignments. First, you may be called out of your endorsement area – elementary jobs will call subs with endorsements in secondary education and vice versa, you may even be called to teach a grade level that you have specifically asked not to teach. The “All Call” has been set up to allow us to call all possible subs when SubFinder hasn’t been able to fill assignments according to the subject pool. You may accept an “All Call” assignment knowing that the school will be aware that you have chosen to take the job outside of your area of endorsement or normal comfort zone because you want to help out in a situation that might otherwise leave a classroom without a sub. We’ve had a test run of the “All Call” and it worked like a charm (picture the sub office staff doing our happy dance). When you arrive at the site for an “All Call”, please let the office know that you don’t usually sub for this subject/grade level, but that you received the urgent call and accepted the job to help. Believe us, they will appreciate your willingness to step up and lend a hand.

Speaking of accepting assignments; sometimes there is confusion about the hours of a job when SubFinder calls with a request and lists two different sets of hours. You won’t go wrong if you listen for the hours of the assignment rather that the employee’s schedule.

A couple of subs have called to ask about the parking situation at Shadle High School. Shadle is undergoing a remodel through spring of 2009 and currently the available parking is minimal and what there is available is far away. For the time being you should expect to park at a distance and hike whenever you are assigned to Shadle. You might also consider using public transit to get to work on days when you need to be at Shadle. A quick glance at the Spokane Transit Authority shows three different routes that pass within easy walking distance of the high school. You can check it out and make arrangements by looking at STA’s user friendly website: http://www.spokanetransit.com/ridesta/routesschedules.asp

If you’re a certificated substitute looking for a potential long term assignment remember that you can’t be considered for long term teaching positions unless you have completed the new (as of last spring) Spokane Public Schools on-line application. When we were researching data about eligible substitutes in August we discovered to our horror that nearly one third of our subs haven’t finished their new on-line applications. The process is lengthy, so don’t wait until it is too late! Begin your applications now! You can find instructions and answers to (nearly) all your applicant questions here: http://www.spokaneschools.org/Employment/

Roger Moses, Equity Services Assistant, recommends a terrific book this month, The Culturally Proficient School, by Randall Lindsey, Laraine Roberts and Franklin Campbell Jones. The approach taken in the book is one which offers a strategy of stating specific principles of cultural proficiency followed by a conversation between educators addressing the principle and, most appreciated by Roger, a reflective activity for the individual or group working with the text.

We’re looking at the weather forecast, and they’re predicting some nights that look mighty frosty in our future, and we shouldn’t be surprised – it is October in Spokane, after all. October is a nostalgic month, isn’t it? Bright, warm days remind us of lazy summer afternoons gone by and chilly evenings anticipate the inevitable advance – dare we mention it – of winter months. We say, “Seize the season!” Get out and watch the leave fall, pick apples, and play while you can – we’ll have time to cocoon in front of a roaring fire later. Coming up next month; our annual Thanksgiving Pie issue of the Substitute News and Updates! Can you feel the excitement? Pie gets us all shook up. Kate has been spending the past weeks in search of the perfect home baked apple pie and feels like she may be getting close, but who knows, we might just bust loose and try something new and exotic – Caramel Macadamia Nut Tart with a tangerine zest and toasted coconut shortbread crust anybody?

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