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We don't work under contract; we are a private agency in an at-will employment state, and we are not unionized.
Another thing we do that is not typical (very little of our program is typical), but very effective, is employ floating subs who are on staff, and are always there. They know the kids (critical, with the population with which I work), know the school, know the programming, know how a day is supposed to look, etc., and this makes things as seamless as possible when someone is scheduled out.
Don't you just hate it when you are just about to post a response and something happens and it erases! Darn! I was almost finished with a lengthy response and the puppy jumped on my lap and hit the key board.
Here is part of it.
In the districts where I am a substitute teacher the classroom teachers are expected to leave lesson plans that are productive and appropriate to their subject matter and students. These districts only hire licensed teachers as substitutes and the sub is expected to be able to follow the plans. Whether it is leading a discussion on To Kill a Mockingbird, teaching the causes of WW II, or explaining how to measure the strength of earthquakes the sub. is expected to do that.
Obviously, the teacher may need to leave a teacher's edition or background information or may switch the schedule around so that you are doing something different than what they would have done. Perhaps they will have you give the quiz that they would have done a day later or maybe they will have the students start a research project a day or two earlier but it is always productive work,
Even in very technical classes such as chemistry, calculus, physics and foreign language the teacher plans something productive that a well educated, fellow teacher (even with a different background) can successfully teach or supervise (using computers, reviewing materials with a peer or extra practice). It can be difficult because the last time that I had some of these classes was 40 plus years ago in HS but I am still expected to teach whatever is planned for me that day. Yes, it may be a videotape with a follow-up discussion but that is very rare.
In my three years of subbing I have never once had a teacher tell me to "just let the students have a study hall". That would be unacceptable behavior on the part of the teacher.
My district in Texas actually has four categories of leave.
State days are leave days that are subsidized by the state and therefore portable to other school districts if you transfer. You can use them for sick leave or just personal leave of any sort except they cannot be taken on either end of an existing 3-day weekend or holiday. If you want to take a personal day to extend a holiday weekend it must be leave without pay unless the principal approves it otherwise. If they did not have this rule too many people would use them to create 4-day weekend vacations or to extend spring break and they would run out of subs.
Local no-charge days are regular sick leave days paid for by the school district. They can only be used for sick leave or family sick leave and you get paid for any unused local no-charge days when you retire.
Local charge days are additional sick days in which you receive your salary but are charged the cost of the sub (about half your salary).
Leave without pay is what it sounds like and what you end up with if all other forms of leave are exhausted.
I forget how many of each type of leave we get at the start of each school year. When we put in for leave in the computerized AESOP system we have to select which type of leave we want and if one type is exhausted we have to chose another.
Most teachers try to hoard their state days as those are automatically approved personal days you can take any time for any reason. So if they are sick or have a sick child they burn up the local no charge days first. Once in a while we get an email from the administration saying "no more personal days will be approved for x-date" because they have run out of subs. Usually it is Fridays in the spring that are popular.
I've seen a few teachers who have been out a tremendous amount but usually it is for understandable circumstances and they get deep into the leave without pay category. Last year the teacher across the hall was out a bunch. Her husband was dying of cancer and hospitalized in Houston 3 hours away. No one was on her case for spending a lot of time down there with him.
More commonly it is women who go out on maternity leave. They don't get any special additional maternity leave category so they just burn through their existing leave categories and on into leave without pay if necessary. The prudent ones conceive in March so they can give birth at the beginning of the summer!
More commonly it is women who go out on maternity leave. They don't get any special additional maternity leave category so they just burn through their existing leave categories and on into leave without pay if necessary. The prudent ones conceive in March so they can give birth at the beginning of the summer!
Because you always have utmost control over when conception occurs or doesn't. Hah..."prudent."
Conception in March, birth in June. I know Texans are different, but 2 or 3 month gestation?
Ooops....! Good thing I don't teach math. Let's try September!
Point is, there are two teachers in my department who are about 9 months pregnant right now. They seemed to have timed it perfectly. I kind of doubt it is pure coincidence but I didn't ask.
My wife gets 2 personal days, 3-5 sick days and 2 professional devolopment days. Sick days accrue up to a point and the other two do not. Teachers aren't allowed to take time off during the first two weeks and the last week.
All my kids were concieved in September, all have June birthdays, except one, who stormed the barn door in April. But, he stayed in the hospital for six weeks, so I finished the school year. I never even took maternity leave.
The one thing, some teachers may be able to arrange a sub easier than others. When I had a complicated IEP meeting, that took 2 months to coordinate, and involved multiple agencies, forget, calling in...either me or my kids would have had to be on our death bed before I missed that. Sure, someone could have covered, who would have done an okay job...
We are year-round. Teachers are granted PTO on a first-come, first-served basis, as there is a limited number of staff that is approved to be off on a given day.
PTO makes complete sense for you then. Way less complicated than sick days with a lot more administrative flexibility.
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