NEWS & UPDATES

March 2007 News and Updates

February sub usage went from one extreme to the other. The third week was so busy that we not only surprised a number of you with personal calls from us to schedule jobs, but you also experienced the delightful, unanticipated thrill of 5:30 a.m. calls from SubFinder! One of the best survival skills for substitutes the ability to roll with the punches and once again you guys met the challenge of a roller coaster month, we thank you. Our expectation for March activity is that things should even out a bit, though we have noticed a couple of days that look like they may take off into the “exciting” range for sub usage. You’ll know that things are extra busy if you get those extra early calls from SubFinder.

We’ve received a couple of questions regarding calendar maintenance, specifically in regards to changing an unavailable date range. If a prior date range has been entered and you try to call in more days that include the previously entered unavailable dates you’ll hear the recording that tells you this new date range conflicts with data that is already in SubFinder. Here is a scenario for the correct steps to take:
You enter an unavailable date range for February 28 from 6 am to 3 pm. Later you learn that you will also be unavailable for February 27 and March 1. When you attempt to enter an unavailable date range from 6 am on 2/27 through 3 pm on 3/1 SubFinder won't let you because of the previously entered (and therefore conflicting) date range of 6 am to 3 pm on 2/28. You must either enter 2/27 and 3/1 separately or remove the previous unavailable date range for 2/28 and subsequently enter the 2/27 through 3/1 range.

We’ve had a few troubling reports back from schools regarding certificated substitutes who leave the job before the end of their assignment. Two office managers who stopped subs on the way out of their buildings early were actually shouted at by the substitute! One substitute at another site left an unfortunate note to the teacher complaining in a startlingly unprofessional way about how “inconvenient” it was when she was expected to stay for all the hours of the job. We know that the subs who behave like this are in the minority. Most of you are fantastically conscientious, caring and polite people and we value you more than we can say. However, it does appear, based on the lamentable behavior described above, that a reminder about district expectations is in order:

• Be nice to everybody. It is just good manners, and it helps you network to build a reputation as a good substitute as well as a good person.
• Unless there is an emergency of some sort, expect to work for the whole job. Recall that we pay certificated subs for a whole day (7.5 hours) or a half day (3.75 hours). Do you want to explain to taxpayers, your fellow employees (or your Mom) the reason it is okay to get paid for time you are not actually working? We didn’t think so.
• On Collaborative Day (usually Thursday), please arrive at school at the regular arrival time (HS – 7:30 am, MS – 8:15 am, Elementary – 8:30).

You will recall that in December we made you aware of Spokane Public Schools policy regarding MySpace and other social websites. We’ve noticed several articles in national publications and on-line regarding this issue since then (and aren’t we feeling pleased with ourselves for being so cutting edge – but that’s the News and Updates for you, so hip that we embarrass our children). One issue that we did not cover, because our school district does not do this, was that many employers check web information (including social sites) prior to hiring applicants, one more thing think about before you post anything on the world wide web that is so hip you might knock yourself out of the running for gainful employment.

We thought it might be a good idea to remind you that this year Daylight Savings Time starts a couple of weeks early, March 11 to be exact, so set your clocks for longer days and start looking for daffodils, robins and other harbingers of spring. We’ll be watching too! Spring break is scheduled for the first week in April, but we’ll talk about that, cultural competency, how to get hired, school district calendars and more in our next electrifying installment of the much anticipated April Substitute News and Updates!

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.

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