Staying Organized While Substitute Teaching

Have you recently graduated with your education degree? Are you one of many who have been affected by reductions in staff? Do you want to get back into education after being gone for several years? Many people who fall into these categories turn to subbing as a way to stay connected with education or to get a foot in the door. Personally, I started subbing after moving to a new city at the end of the summer. Since I was too late to get a full-time teaching job, I signed up to be a substitute teacher. After just a few weeks, I was able to secure a full-time position because of a contact I made while subbing.

Never the Same

Substitute teaching can drastically vary from day to day. It can get very confusing to keep track of which day you were at which school and the information associated with that school. That is why it is essential to stay organized concerning your various jobs. While subbing, I had a binder that I took with me to every sub job to help keep me organized. Since many schools/districts gave me paper instructions/forms, I recommend that you not use an iPad or smartphone for this task. If you do, you will still end up needing to keep a folder or binder for the loose paper. To get you started, here are a few pages that I kept in my binder to help me stay organized:

• The Binder: Inside, I kept all my substitute teaching documents, and my first page was a compensation sheet.  On this, I had a chart that included the following information about each assignment: date, district, school, teacher, and pay date. This made a quick reference so that I could verify where I was on which day. Additionally, it allowed me to know when I should be expecting to get paid for each day I worked. I found that while I thought I would remember, in fact, I needed to have it written down.  

• School Reference Sheet: Next, I had a school reference sheet. For each school where I could possibly work, I kept a running list of the school’s name, its phone number, the name of the secretary, the building’s address, and the start and end time of their school day. When I knew I had a job at a particular school, I could easily check what time I needed to be there, as well as having ready access to the address. It was simple to plug it into my GPS and head on my way. 

• While You Were Out Form: I kept multiple copies of this form in my binder so that I could leave it for the teacher at the end of the day. I had two variations of the same form so that it would be appropriate for the class or classes I taught. Look around to find one that works for you. Here is a form for elementary school, and here is one for secondary school. Personally, I used one I found for elementary classrooms, but created my own for the upper grades.  Suggestions for your elementary school form:

1. Date
2. Your name, number, e-mail, and certification
3. Attendance for the day
4. Students who were helpful
5. Students who needed lots of reminders
6. Notes section
7. Any questions from the day

For the upper grades, I would recommend the following:

1. Date
2. Your name, number, e-mail, and certification
3. Attendance for each class period
4. A notes section for eight different class periods
5. Any questions from the day

Originally, I had a spot for helpful students on my upper-grades sheet, but it seemed to take up space that I thought was more needed for my notes. If there was an exceptional student, I simply wrote it in the class period’s notes section. 

• Username and Passwords: I highly recommend that you keep a section for username and passwords. Many school districts are going with automatic sub callers, such as AESOP.  Especially when these are being set up, the various districts could provide you with a password that might be unique for that district.  Having your usernames and passwords easily accessible means that you won't have to pass up a position simply because you could not recall your codes.

• Calendar: I found that keeping a hard-copy calendar with me on all jobs was essential. Choose a template you like from this calendar collection and print it out. While smartphones and planners may make a paper calendar non-essential most of the time, it is vital to have quick access to your availability in case a secretary or another teacher approaches you about a job for another day while you are at a school. Somehow, when using your electronic calendar, mistakes happen. It's fine to double check with your smartphone, but keep all sub assignments on your binder calendar—you won't be sorry! 

Share your tips for substitute teachers with the Lesson Planet Community.

Additional Resources:

A Note from the Substitute, Substitute Substitute Teacher Comment Form, Ten Ways to Tackle the Last Ten Minutes of Class