NEWS & UPDATES

February 2007 News and Updates

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
Our schools couldn’t function
Without substitutes like you!

Happy Valentine’s day! And thank you for all you do for our students and staff every single day of the school year. All over the school district, nobody is more appreciated yet receives fewer accolades than substitutes. We want you to know that we notice the terrific job that you do. We see that you go to work every day, often at schools with which you are unfamiliar,  you do everything you can to prepare for a great day and make it positive for students and staff. In December Staci found a news article from Massachusetts about a substitute there who, get this, saved the life of another teacher who choked in the lunchroom. It is a great story, but the actions of this substitute came as no surprise to us here at the sub desk, we know you guys are heroes (you can read the whole article here: http://www.salemnews.com/local/local_story_342064650

January is usually our least busy month and 2007 was no exception. Our office crystal ball is predicting a busier February, so be prepared for those calls from your favorite school district (that’s us, right?). Make certain to maintain your calendar in SubFinder so that we don’t bother you with calls when you’re not available to sub. February and March seem to be prime months for subs to take a break from Spokane’s ubiquitous grey skies and chilly temperatures. Please enjoy fair weather while you’re away, but do block yourself from SubFinder calls while you are away.

If you are looking to increase the number of jobs there are a couple of proven ways to go about it. Networking is probably the most valuable tactic to get requested for more jobs. Print business cards with your SubFinder ID number (that’s the four digit number that teachers use to request certificated substitutes in our system) and leave the card attached to the note you leave for teachers at the end of the day. While you’re at a school you can leave a couple of cards with the Office Manager. Naturally you want to put your best foot forward to leave a great impression when you substitute. We’ve put together a short “Polonius” list of the top five requested qualities in a substitute:

• 1)  Be flexible. You never really know what you may be asked to do, but you should be willing to do whatever is asked. Can you believe that we've actually had substitutes who refused to do a task when asked by a staff member?! I can assure you that this kind of inflexibility doesn’t win fans out in the schools where teamwork is valued highly.
   
  
• 2)   Be friendly, but respect boundaries. People appreciate a personable sub, but they resent having somebody who takes over. We’ve heard of substitutes who informed staff that they were teaching incorrectly!
   
• 3)  Don't chat too much. You may have friends or become especially friendly with other staff, but remember that you are working. If you're talking all the time you aren't getting your work done and neither are your co-workers. This leaves a terrible impression (and a pile of un-finished work for the person who is out sick!).
   
• 4)   Educate yourself. The more you know, the more valuable you'll be. A word of warning though, you don’t want to appear as though you think you know more than others. We have heard of substitutes telling teachers how to do their jobs, an action that comes across as condescending and arrogant (because it is!)
   
• 5)  Arrive on time and prepared for the day. Plan to work for the entire time for which you are paid. Don’t ask to leave early unless you have an emergency. The district expectation is that certificated substitutes will work either a 3.75 hour day or a 7.5 hour day. If you have questions, please contact the substitute office.

Towards the end of each school year the Substitute Office staff run activity reports in anticipation of sending out Letters of Assurance and Letters of Non-Assurance. One of the criteria we will use in determining who is sent an assurance of a place on the 2007-08 substitute list is your availability. We expect that each substitute on our list will work a minimum of two days per month during the school year. Please do not call the Substitute Office to learn the number of days you have worked. Please do look at your monthly activity printouts which accompany your pay check to determine the number of days you have worked this year. If you have worked less than an average of two days a month you might want to plan on picking up more days during the busier spring months.

You may already be aware that Spokane Public Schools is forecasting a $10.5 million budget challenge for the 2007-2008 school year. Among other strategies proposed for addressing the gap is that Pratt Elementary School be closed starting next year, and that the Special Education Assessment Center on Trent be relocated from leased space to the Pratt building. These measures will save approximately $500,000 each year in operating funds. The School Board will hold a formal public hearing on this recommendation on March 21 at 7 p.m. in the Pratt gym. It is expected that the School Board will make a final decision about this issue at its April 25 meeting at Willard Elementary School. Many more cuts will need to be made unless the Washington State legislature fixes the core funding system. Spokane’s board of directors adopted a resolution at the January 24 meeting urging the legislature to fix the broken state school funding system. You can read the resolution in its entirety at: http://www.spokaneschools.org/BudgetAccounting/pdf/SDOC0369.pdf
You can see an overview of the preliminary budget forecast for the 2007-2008  school year at: http://www.spokaneschools.org/BudgetAccounting/pdf/2007-2008BudgetForecast.pdf
The school district website will continue to post information as we move forward to meet this budget challenge.

Orientations for new substitutes are held approximately twice a month. These are by invitation only for new hires, but if you’ve been on the sub list for a while and are looking for a refresher, please feel free to drop in.

There is no school on February 16 and February 19, which is going to make for an excellent excuse to indulge in your favorite wintertime activity, whether it is skiing, poker tournament, or marathon movie weekend at home with all the popcorn and cocoa you can consume. Think of it as the last gasp of winter, after all the days are getting longer … well, a little bit anyway!

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