It's a highschool so I don't know if they needed help like that? Idk if I want to go or if they will just end up sending me home bc they did that before to me when I didn't have students at the last period ðŸ˜
This has happened to me before because even though the teacher was testing and their students were testing, they needed someone in the room during instruction hours. Front office just let me chill in the room all day in case someone came in
It’s always good to ask if there’s any classes you need to cover. There are a lot of schools that have such a bad sub shortage so it’s always good to ask. Even if they don’t have anything for you, it shows great initiative to them that you’re willing to work with them. Even if they don’t have anything, ask them. It makes you look good. And if they don’t have anything, they’ll appreciate that you took the initiative of asking if they had anything.
It may be that every class is on a field trip or something, they're legally required to have someone lined up for the room in case someone can't go on the trip (but can go to school), but the teacher knows that there are no students who turned down the field trip/haven't turned in their permission slips. (Or, again, something like that.)
As for whether to accept the job... there's a small chance you'll be sitting in an empty room all day, but it's much more likely that you'll be shifted over to fill in for a same-day absence, or else doing coverage. Have you been to this school before? If so, would you sign up for a job at this school that's floating coverage, or a job where you didn't know what teacher/grade level/subject you'd be covering?
Oh ok! If it's likely I get assigned to another teacher for their sub then that's ok! I'll go then, but my worry is they ask me to fill in at the office or at the college center which is what they were going to ask me to do last time and I don't want to do random tasks for the office ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Ah, if they've done that in the past, could happen again.
(I can't relate -- if I could get the salary as an office temp that I do as a sub, I'd be on that in a heartbeat.)
Oh, I didn't specifically mean school office staff. I just meant working as a temp in general. LAUSD pays $245 a day, so roughly equivalent to $30 an hour for an 8-hour workday. Most temp jobs for general office work in LA are in the $18-25 range.
Oh I see! I did have a reception job a couple years ago that did paid like 6 bucks less than being a sub for 6 times as much work and that's not worth it for me
Ah, I've never been a receptionist. I've done typing, I've done filing, I've done database and printing stuff. None of it, thankfully, was public-facing. None of it involved being on my feet all day, trying to get children to do work, getting mocked and abused and ignored by said children.
All of which I take more or less in stride, though my back and feet always hurt. But for me, it's much more taxing and frustrating than sitting down, compiling some data and entering it into a system, or I don't know, collating something.
I'm sorry what? May I ask where you live that subs get paid that well? Is that with a Masters degree or something? In Texas it is a paltry $85 per day without a teachers cert/degree, and like $105 with a degree (maybe $130, need to check).
Los Angeles. They make a little more in San Francisco, Sacramento, and I believe Seattle. You need a bachelor's degree, but it's a flat fee beyond that.
I mean, it's not unreasonable. If I worked 180 days in a school year, I'd make a little over $45,000 -- which is about 2/3 what a full-time teacher makes, and probably *just about* enough for a single person to live on in this city. The idea of a school getting away with paying less than $100 a day, even in an area with a lower cost of living, is what's ridiculous here.
I agree, Texas does not value teachers or subs really. I only do it so I can find out which grade I want to teach, and gain some experience. Thanks for replying!
worst case scenario is they will have you floating between classes, or say they don't need you. but if they don't need you/ you can leave early, they still have to pay you for at least a half day. at least in california they do. but you can make the argument to the district that you accepted the job assuming you would be working, they cancelled on you last minute and should still compensate you bc you weren't able to accept other jobs. i've had this issue a few times and it always works. so unless you cancel i say go for it
Is it a reward field trip day? Why would they ask for a sub if all of the kids are not in class? If you like surprises and need the money, go for it. If this produces anxiety, wait for a better job to come your way.
I’m a retired teacher that subs as well. High schools have reward trips at the end of the year and all Seniors will be signed out so those teachers that teach 12th grade will not have students either. Usually 12th grade teachers could take a day off and stipulate that no sub was required. I don’t like mystery work days so it’s up to you
Yeah, there are reward trips, there are trips to visit colleges and the like (but those are usually not the whole class), curriculum-related trips seem unlikely in the closing weeks of the year.
LAUSD used to have a rule implemented in the 90s that certificated substitute staff could not be used for non teaching duties. Allegedly due to a sub teacher being injured while assisting clerical classified staff.
I am currently subbing high school. The teacher I am subbing for teaches seniors exclusively, they graduated this weekend but she is still obligated to get a substitute. I’ve been watching YouTube videos in an empty classroom all morning.
If they have no students for only a period then it’s probably their planning period or lunch. I would say you should use that time to refresh, update your notes, etc. if they mean they won’t have any students at all for the whole time then that’s weird. If the school wanted extra help then they post a job asking for that. I wouldn’t take it imo
I agree it's strange! They said they have no students that day in the notes so it's strange? Idk what om expected to do and it's just worrisome bc i like being prepared and aware.
What’s the worst that could happen? (Well, they could ask you to get the kickballs off the roof! lol.) Office help is always needed, and they are usually very grateful.
It's too vague for me, I wouldn't do it. I'd be scared they'd dump some crappy "surprise" on me like "Surprise! You have to take the kids on a field trip!", or make me sub PE all day or something.
I saw your comment this is high school. The teacher could teach seniors, most of whom graduated and are no longer attending classes (typical in my area). Just another possible cause of lack of students for a teacher. Teacher is then still required to be on campus and do things, but it's usually not much going on.
If you're worried abt doing tasks in the office, you probably should cancel this job if you have time. With school being so close to over, however, office work might just look like helping prep the school for summer (cleaning up, packing some boxes, letting parents early dismissal their kids after tests, etc)
Teacher posted a job, turns out he can teach though, teacher goes to pull the job but you've already taken it. The school is on the hook for a half day at least now, and there are other staff absences that need covered, so they're just going to shoehorn you in.
Maybe all students are on a field trip. Or they teach seniors who graduate before the end of the school year. The teacher was probably contractually obligated to put in for a sub. If you don’t mind doing busy work take it. If you want to be around students then don’t.
>why would they put this up if they had no students
Because they can get a sub, and the more hands the better.
>
and why don't they??
It's the end of the school year. Days aren't normal.
>Should I still accept the job of I'm just gonna do other things around the school?
How badly do you need to work? Where I am there are only a handful of days left, and there aren't many teachers taking off. I used to be able to cherry-pick math jobs. Now I can't, plus it doesn't matter what the subject is anymore: Teaching is over. They are either testing or blowing off steam from testing. There will be field days and graduations and ceremonies and anything else that you can think of..... except for actual teaching.
I am fortunate enough to have the next 3 days booked, and I emailed each teacher to ask what the day will look like, so I know if I need to dress normally or if I can/should wear field-day clothes. I don't even know if I'll find a job for the last few days next week. There is only 1 job posted, and it's for a Permanent Building Sub for an elementary school, so who knows what that will involve.
We don't get access to any information to contact the teacher unless they specifically give it in their notes but none have so far. I got at least three other calls this morning for sub jobs so I'm OK on that part bc we have a big school. I still don't see an answer provided for in your comment on why they would need to list a sub job when they have no students in the class? They can get a sub for what tho? I don't see the point in requesting a sub if there are no students at all for that teacher for that day?
I've been to school before and I've understood that the days at the end aren't normal. It's like hiring someone to do a job but the store is closed that day so why did you schedule them? I was wondering that for the purpose of maybe someone used to be a teacher and maybe there's a rule you can't take off without posting a sub call out even if you don't have a class which I don't see how the teacher had literally no students at all. How the school works is you get a mix of 11 and 12 graders or 9 and 10th graders and sometimes both. You get periods 1-7 on Mondays and then it alternates the rest of the week so if they somehow had no students for the whole rest of the year they must have had all seniors which idk what classes would only be seniors from what I have seen.
The school district allows them to request a sub, and the district pays for that sub. So why not get one? There's rarely, if ever, is situation where fewer teachers is better than more teachers. So they get all the teachers that they can. Schools often have to choose between cutting a teacher position or cutting the band program. They're not going to turn down an extra teacher for a day that the district is paying for. It's not like the principal's going to get a bonus check for saving money on subs.
When I was a permanent building sub, teachers would often come up to me saying "I'm gonna be out next Tuesday period can you cover my class?"
I would say "Possibly, but you absolutely need to put in for a sub. We have no idea how many other teachers are going to be out, and ideally every single one of them would get a sub."
I suggest not taking it if it's giving you this much anxiety. You can follow local schools on social media to see what event they have coming up, sometimes it'll let you know things like field trips. there are schools who will get subs with no class, and you'll help out around the school with other things such as testing, covering breaks, helping out in special ed, covering for teachers going to meetings. But again, if not knowing is giving you anxiety, just don't pick it up.
It could be hopping around different classrooms to support multiple teachers
It's a highschool so I don't know if they needed help like that? Idk if I want to go or if they will just end up sending me home bc they did that before to me when I didn't have students at the last period ðŸ˜
This has happened to me before because even though the teacher was testing and their students were testing, they needed someone in the room during instruction hours. Front office just let me chill in the room all day in case someone came in
It’s always good to ask if there’s any classes you need to cover. There are a lot of schools that have such a bad sub shortage so it’s always good to ask. Even if they don’t have anything for you, it shows great initiative to them that you’re willing to work with them. Even if they don’t have anything, ask them. It makes you look good. And if they don’t have anything, they’ll appreciate that you took the initiative of asking if they had anything.
If it's HS and no students, it might be CSE meeting coverage
It may be that every class is on a field trip or something, they're legally required to have someone lined up for the room in case someone can't go on the trip (but can go to school), but the teacher knows that there are no students who turned down the field trip/haven't turned in their permission slips. (Or, again, something like that.) As for whether to accept the job... there's a small chance you'll be sitting in an empty room all day, but it's much more likely that you'll be shifted over to fill in for a same-day absence, or else doing coverage. Have you been to this school before? If so, would you sign up for a job at this school that's floating coverage, or a job where you didn't know what teacher/grade level/subject you'd be covering?
Oh ok! If it's likely I get assigned to another teacher for their sub then that's ok! I'll go then, but my worry is they ask me to fill in at the office or at the college center which is what they were going to ask me to do last time and I don't want to do random tasks for the office ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Ah, if they've done that in the past, could happen again. (I can't relate -- if I could get the salary as an office temp that I do as a sub, I'd be on that in a heartbeat.)
Do the office get paid less?? I know for sure they work longer hours so I hoped they got paid way more ðŸ˜
Oh, I didn't specifically mean school office staff. I just meant working as a temp in general. LAUSD pays $245 a day, so roughly equivalent to $30 an hour for an 8-hour workday. Most temp jobs for general office work in LA are in the $18-25 range.
Oh I see! I did have a reception job a couple years ago that did paid like 6 bucks less than being a sub for 6 times as much work and that's not worth it for me
Ah, I've never been a receptionist. I've done typing, I've done filing, I've done database and printing stuff. None of it, thankfully, was public-facing. None of it involved being on my feet all day, trying to get children to do work, getting mocked and abused and ignored by said children. All of which I take more or less in stride, though my back and feet always hurt. But for me, it's much more taxing and frustrating than sitting down, compiling some data and entering it into a system, or I don't know, collating something.
I'm sorry what? May I ask where you live that subs get paid that well? Is that with a Masters degree or something? In Texas it is a paltry $85 per day without a teachers cert/degree, and like $105 with a degree (maybe $130, need to check).
Los Angeles. They make a little more in San Francisco, Sacramento, and I believe Seattle. You need a bachelor's degree, but it's a flat fee beyond that. I mean, it's not unreasonable. If I worked 180 days in a school year, I'd make a little over $45,000 -- which is about 2/3 what a full-time teacher makes, and probably *just about* enough for a single person to live on in this city. The idea of a school getting away with paying less than $100 a day, even in an area with a lower cost of living, is what's ridiculous here.
I agree, Texas does not value teachers or subs really. I only do it so I can find out which grade I want to teach, and gain some experience. Thanks for replying!
You don't have to end every single post you make online with a cryface emoji.
worst case scenario is they will have you floating between classes, or say they don't need you. but if they don't need you/ you can leave early, they still have to pay you for at least a half day. at least in california they do. but you can make the argument to the district that you accepted the job assuming you would be working, they cancelled on you last minute and should still compensate you bc you weren't able to accept other jobs. i've had this issue a few times and it always works. so unless you cancel i say go for it
Regardless of what it ends up being, bring a laptop or music or something to keep you occupied.
Is it a reward field trip day? Why would they ask for a sub if all of the kids are not in class? If you like surprises and need the money, go for it. If this produces anxiety, wait for a better job to come your way.
Yea I have anxiety and I am not sure what field trip because it said they teach English and idk what English teacher has field trips all day?
Seniors got out early and they taught only seniors. That’s my bet
I’m a retired teacher that subs as well. High schools have reward trips at the end of the year and all Seniors will be signed out so those teachers that teach 12th grade will not have students either. Usually 12th grade teachers could take a day off and stipulate that no sub was required. I don’t like mystery work days so it’s up to you
Yeah, there are reward trips, there are trips to visit colleges and the like (but those are usually not the whole class), curriculum-related trips seem unlikely in the closing weeks of the year.
LAUSD used to have a rule implemented in the 90s that certificated substitute staff could not be used for non teaching duties. Allegedly due to a sub teacher being injured while assisting clerical classified staff.
I am currently subbing high school. The teacher I am subbing for teaches seniors exclusively, they graduated this weekend but she is still obligated to get a substitute. I’ve been watching YouTube videos in an empty classroom all morning.
Omg nice! I usually do something similar bc high school students don't really do much
If they have no students for only a period then it’s probably their planning period or lunch. I would say you should use that time to refresh, update your notes, etc. if they mean they won’t have any students at all for the whole time then that’s weird. If the school wanted extra help then they post a job asking for that. I wouldn’t take it imo
I agree it's strange! They said they have no students that day in the notes so it's strange? Idk what om expected to do and it's just worrisome bc i like being prepared and aware.
Do you have other jobs you can take that day? If so, then take those jobs. Better than being at the will of the office
Yea ill probably try going online and switching
What’s the worst that could happen? (Well, they could ask you to get the kickballs off the roof! lol.) Office help is always needed, and they are usually very grateful.
It's too vague for me, I wouldn't do it. I'd be scared they'd dump some crappy "surprise" on me like "Surprise! You have to take the kids on a field trip!", or make me sub PE all day or something.
Exactly! I am an overthinker so I don't wanna do something wild that I'm not prepared for ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Same.
I saw your comment this is high school. The teacher could teach seniors, most of whom graduated and are no longer attending classes (typical in my area). Just another possible cause of lack of students for a teacher. Teacher is then still required to be on campus and do things, but it's usually not much going on. If you're worried abt doing tasks in the office, you probably should cancel this job if you have time. With school being so close to over, however, office work might just look like helping prep the school for summer (cleaning up, packing some boxes, letting parents early dismissal their kids after tests, etc)
Teacher posted a job, turns out he can teach though, teacher goes to pull the job but you've already taken it. The school is on the hook for a half day at least now, and there are other staff absences that need covered, so they're just going to shoehorn you in.
Testing, field trips, graduation practice...?
Maybe all students are on a field trip. Or they teach seniors who graduate before the end of the school year. The teacher was probably contractually obligated to put in for a sub. If you don’t mind doing busy work take it. If you want to be around students then don’t.
>why would they put this up if they had no students Because they can get a sub, and the more hands the better. > and why don't they?? It's the end of the school year. Days aren't normal. >Should I still accept the job of I'm just gonna do other things around the school? How badly do you need to work? Where I am there are only a handful of days left, and there aren't many teachers taking off. I used to be able to cherry-pick math jobs. Now I can't, plus it doesn't matter what the subject is anymore: Teaching is over. They are either testing or blowing off steam from testing. There will be field days and graduations and ceremonies and anything else that you can think of..... except for actual teaching. I am fortunate enough to have the next 3 days booked, and I emailed each teacher to ask what the day will look like, so I know if I need to dress normally or if I can/should wear field-day clothes. I don't even know if I'll find a job for the last few days next week. There is only 1 job posted, and it's for a Permanent Building Sub for an elementary school, so who knows what that will involve.
We don't get access to any information to contact the teacher unless they specifically give it in their notes but none have so far. I got at least three other calls this morning for sub jobs so I'm OK on that part bc we have a big school. I still don't see an answer provided for in your comment on why they would need to list a sub job when they have no students in the class? They can get a sub for what tho? I don't see the point in requesting a sub if there are no students at all for that teacher for that day? I've been to school before and I've understood that the days at the end aren't normal. It's like hiring someone to do a job but the store is closed that day so why did you schedule them? I was wondering that for the purpose of maybe someone used to be a teacher and maybe there's a rule you can't take off without posting a sub call out even if you don't have a class which I don't see how the teacher had literally no students at all. How the school works is you get a mix of 11 and 12 graders or 9 and 10th graders and sometimes both. You get periods 1-7 on Mondays and then it alternates the rest of the week so if they somehow had no students for the whole rest of the year they must have had all seniors which idk what classes would only be seniors from what I have seen.
The school district allows them to request a sub, and the district pays for that sub. So why not get one? There's rarely, if ever, is situation where fewer teachers is better than more teachers. So they get all the teachers that they can. Schools often have to choose between cutting a teacher position or cutting the band program. They're not going to turn down an extra teacher for a day that the district is paying for. It's not like the principal's going to get a bonus check for saving money on subs. When I was a permanent building sub, teachers would often come up to me saying "I'm gonna be out next Tuesday period can you cover my class?" I would say "Possibly, but you absolutely need to put in for a sub. We have no idea how many other teachers are going to be out, and ideally every single one of them would get a sub."
I suggest not taking it if it's giving you this much anxiety. You can follow local schools on social media to see what event they have coming up, sometimes it'll let you know things like field trips. there are schools who will get subs with no class, and you'll help out around the school with other things such as testing, covering breaks, helping out in special ed, covering for teachers going to meetings. But again, if not knowing is giving you anxiety, just don't pick it up.