TL;DR:

• Network, network, network!
• Networking is crucial for substitute teachers to secure opportunities and build a positive professional reputation.
• Building relationships with teachers, leaving contact information, volunteering for repeat assignments, and utilizing social media are effective networking strategies.
• Teachers and administrators should value and support reliable substitutes, communicate preferences, and provide feedback to ensure a smooth substitute teaching experience.

It is often said that it isn’t so much WHAT you know as it is WHO you know that matters.

It was May 2008. I was a recent college graduate, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and ready to enter the profession and astound students and peers with my innovative ideas and my passion for education. However, as the summer wore on and the few interviews I had didn’t result in a full-time teaching job, I knew I needed to do something to get my foot in the door.

So I submitted my substitute teacher application and, in October 2008, I began my three-year career as a substitute teacher in east central Illinois. At first, the only person I knew was my mother-in-law, who was a fifth-grade teacher at the time. She told all of her colleagues and within a short period of time I was working three to five days a week, first in one building but soon across nearly every building in three districts.

I have learned that the single most important thing to remember about substitute teaching is this: We are better together! Click To Tweet

Did all of those assignments come simply because of that one connection with my mother-in-law? No, of course not. But it certainly started that way. Word of mouth is a powerful tool, though, and it was because of my networking efforts that I was able to develop a professional reputation as a skilled substitute teacher who would help keep the flow of learning going when the regular teachers were gone. Many teachers listed me as their preferred substitute, which means I didn’t have to wait for a call or an email at 6 am asking me to come in at the last minute; my days were often booked out weeks or even months in advance!

Networking is the key! 

Here are some ways to build your network as a substitute teacher:

1. Eat lunch with other teachers and talk about the great things happening in your classroom.
2. Build positive relationships with students.
3. Leave a note with your phone number and/or email.
4. Volunteer to substitute for the teacher again.
5. Visit classrooms during your plan times.
6. Chat with the secretary/office manager at the start and end of the day.
7. Check in with the building principal if they haven’t checked in with you first.
8. Use social media to post about your positive experiences.
9. Join professional groups in the area.
10. Register as a substitute teacher with multiple schools/districts when possible.

Tips for Teachers

Strong substitute teachers are worth their weight in gold! Leave detailed lesson plans, ask for honest feedback, and reach out to those substitutes who you would like to have return to work with your students when you are gone. Make sure that your building secretary and principal know who you would like to have come back and, when necessary, let them know who you do not want in your classroom. (Even when there is a shortage of substitute teachers, be picky about those you trust to work with your students!)

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Tips for Administrators

Pay attention to who is coming to your building, which classes they are working with, and what kind of results they have. When you notice a substitute who is blending seamlessly with your building, encourage them to come back! Reach out when you have absences and ask them if they are interested. Even though they may not be a part of your full-time teaching staff, you can help them feel appreciated and wanted by extending the invitation, visiting their classrooms, and providing your support.

Closing Thoughts

Substitute teaching can be a challenging role. Over the last year and a half of this blog series, I have shared some of my experiences and insights as a substitute teacher for three years, as a classroom teacher for seven, and as a district coordinator and occasional guest administrator for the last five. In this time, I have learned that the single most important thing to remember about substitute teaching is this: We are better together!

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About Alex T. Valencic

Alex Valencic is an educator, former small business owner, Boy Scout, volunteer drug prevention specialist, unrepentant bibliophile, and a geek of all things. He worked as a substitute teacher for three years before achieving his lifelong dream of teaching fourth grade, which he did for seven years in Urbana, Illinois, before accepting his current position as the Curriculum Coordinator for 21st Century Teaching and Learning in Freeport, Illinois, where he not only supports innovative educational practices in the classroom but also oversees social studies, science, and nearly all of the elective courses in the district.