Five More Minutes

For my extra period assignment last Thursday, I ended up going back to the ceramics class. 

(We are far enough into the school year now that the sub shortage is being felt. Every day there are at least two teachers who aren't covered by their very own sub, so these classes are covered by other teachers who have conference periods. And by subs on the conference period of the teacher we're covering.)

Mr. P had an IEP meeting, so he hadn't quite left during the passing period. Lou walked in, saw that he was leaving, and protested. "We have a sub?!?"

Me: "Lou. It's me."

And suddenly it was okay. Lou came over and gave me a huge hug. Mr. P was amused by all of this.

I only once briefly mentioned Lou before, so allow me to explain. I met Lou that week in the ceramics class. Then Lou was in the success seminar. I did not realize his pronouns were he/him, so I misgendered him when I mentioned him previously (giving him the blog moniker of Louise). 

Some students actually like me. When they give me a chance, they realize I'm there to help them, and I only give battle when they fight me. 

Mr. P went to his meeting. Class started. As it was ceramics, the students had things to work on. Lou had a chance to question me.

I hadn't seen him since I left the success seminar class, but I had seen some of his classmates. He asked where I had been. I told him I'd been around.

People are surprised to learn that I work every day. They may not see me for days or weeks, and they don't get that I'm just elsewhere in the district. 

Mr. P's meeting didn't go the whole period. He was back in a little over a half hour. So I packed up to go...

"No. Ms. A. You can't leave yet. You have to stay."

Technically, I was contracted for the full period, so I could stay. But teachers don't really need a sub hanging out. 

"Mr. P, can't she stay for five more minutes..."

Mr. P said I could. I agreed.

And Lou timed me. Did he talk to me for five minutes? No. He was working on the day's project (they were practicing making coils). But when I thought he wasn't paying attention and made a move to go, he told me time wasn't up yet. 

I stayed until he said I could go.

Will I see Lou again? So far, I don't have any other of his classes booked, but I'm only booked up through November. I do get around.

Questions Answered

When a substitute teacher needs a day off, we just make ourselves unavailable that day. When we're doing day-to-day subbing, it's really easy to just turn down an assignment. (Of course, if we don't work, we don't get paid.) 

But when we're on a long-term assignment...

Now, I've subbed for a sub before. I have covered a long-term sub who had to take a day off. But I have never before been the long-term sub in question. 

Last week I posted about my dentist appointment to deal with my cracked tooth. I took that day off work. It was a good thing, as I was in the dentist's chair for three and a half hours. 

And it had been something that was going to have to happen. 

Substitutes have a limit as to how many days they can cover a class. Before, it had been 30 days (or 20 days in a special ed class). But this year of our pandemic, the state passed a law extending that time to 60 days (and then extended it again to 120 days for non-special ed classes). (This was one way of dealing with the substitute teacher and full time teacher shortage.) 

When I started covering Ms. L's class, the sub caller and I counted. From the day I started to the last day of school: 61 days. (The class is special ed, so I'm still bound by the 60 day max rule.) 

By taking a day off for the dentist, I can cover this class until the last day of school. 

So, I made lesson plans. I told the instructional aides and the students I'd be out. I let the office know. I cleared it with the sub caller. I was good to go. 

So, how did the class do with a sub for a sub? 

I'll never know. They didn't cover me. 

Yeah, you know that sub shortage? One of the other teachers on campus was out sick that day, too. The campus only got one sub. 

Sigh. 

Ah well. I did what I could. And it was only one day. (Everybody was very happy to see me the next day.)

Fully Covered

I am sure by now you've heard of the substitute teacher shortage as well as the other challenges in the schools at the moment. But things might be looking up. 

Thursday. I got called to cover Mr. R's math class. Again. 

Mr. R has been out since January. Covid. But, Mr. R has co-teachers, and they've been teaching his class. (I'm using the plural as one teaches with him periods 2 and 4, and the other teaches with him periods 3, 5, and 6.) 

Because of this, and because of the sub shortage, they have not been covering his absence. In fact, there were two different days when I was pulled to cover a different teacher on campus when I was called in to cover Mr. R. (Day one was that middle school science class. Day 2 was the show choir.)

So, when I got that name again, I figured I'd be covering something completely different. 

I got to school, and I was given the keys for Mr. R's class. I was told the school was fully covered. In fact, the secretary had released the teachers she had lined up to period sub for the day. (Period sub is when a teacher covers another teacher's class on their prep period.) 

Seriously? That's amazing in these times. 

Of course, it meant I didn't have a whole lot to do as the co-teachers had the classes handled. But I brought stuff to do. 

I was fully settled in at about the half point of the day when the phone rang... 

(Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of the story.) 

Finding Coverage

Because last week was a holiday week, I pushed the stories from the week before to this week. 

I think I've mentioned the sub situation, which is to say that subs are in high demand. 

I'm firmly entrenched in this long-term gig at the adult transition center. So, I haven't seen what's going on in the other schools. But going by what's been going on where I'm at, I think things are pretty dire. 

First, a brief explanation. The adult transition center has four teachers. It is on the same campus (separated by locked gates) as the alternative education center (which is the school I was at this past summer, the one with the students with behavior problems). The alternative education center has three teachers. 

And the whole school is next door to an elementary school. 

The week before Thanksgiving break, at least one other teacher was out each day. (Illness. Bereavement.) And while the teacher who was out for three days (and had put in an absence request early) got a sub, the other two teachers (who had called out the morning of the day) didn't. 

What to do? Now they're pulling a teacher from the alternative education center to cover a class at the adult transition center. Yes, a teacher who already has a class with students in it is pulled from his class to cover another class. 

And they've done this more than once. 

I don't know how they're covering the class he's leaving, though. They might just be period subbing, where he's working on his prep period. (The teachers do get paid for the extra work.) As I wasn't watching all day, they may have switched out teachers when I wasn't looking. 

But yeah, the district is way short on subs. At least I have job security at the moment...

The Current Chaos

Have I mentioned that there's a substitute teacher shortage? I mean, I may have alluded to it several times as this is the reality I'm living, but I don't think I've come out and said it. It's bad enough that it's made the media. 

Two weeks ago (last week's posts on this blog) I was covering a vacant English class. On Tuesday of that week, I ran into Mrs. O. (In the bathroom, but that's neither here nor there.) The next day (Wednesday), she was starting her leave (she had to have surgery, and she's now recovering from that). And she didn't have a sub to cover her classes. 

When I worked the second day of school, I ran into Mrs. O. She mentioned the surgery and asked if I was doing long-term jobs. I gave a non-committal answer. She said she'd request me. 

(No, teachers aren't required to find their own subs. But when teachers are going to be out, they can request who takes their classes. That's how I got that long-term gig in April. The sub caller gives us the option, which we can turn down, but if I've said yes to the teacher, I take the gig.) 

Of course, I didn't know I'd be in the vacant English class when Mrs. O needed to be out. And I didn't know that there'd be no one else to take the class. 

Seriously. No. One. 

Mrs. O was told that in all likelihood, her classes would be covered period-by-period daily by different teachers on campus. For the entire month that she's due to be out. 

But then, on Wednesday after school, I was informed that they had hired someone for the vacant English class, and Mrs. B was starting on Thursday. Yes, the next day. 

Because the English classes were scheduled to take a standardized test, I did two days of transition with Mrs. B (because I'd already set everything up), and then the next Monday (last Monday) I'd transition into Mrs. O's class. 

I had lesson plans. I knew what was going on. I was ready. 

Then, Monday morning...

I got a call. Sub caller. They needed me to cover a fifth grade class, and I had no choice in the matter. 

Grrrr.

(Tomorrow's post is all about how that day went.) 

I heard later how the school had to scramble to cover Mrs. O's classes yet another day. 

It's bad. If you've ever considered becoming a substitute teacher... 

Yes. Okay. Fine. 

It wasn't that funny. 

Still laughing? 

I'll give you a minute before I continue on...

So, yes, I'm now covering Mrs. O's classes and will do so (unless pulled again) for the rest of this month. And every day, there will be classes that go uncovered. It's been like this since day one of the school year, and it doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.

So, how's your job going?