Eydie's Excerpts

by Eydie Scher

A Sub (Washoe County School District)

Maybe we've met. We could have passed one another in the hallway. You can tell us apart from the regular teachers. Often we wear a tag around our neck that we were given in the office when we check in. More likely we can tell who we are by looking at us. We usually stand out for being of a certain age although I do see a number of subs just out of college trying to get a foot in the door.

To sub in Washoe County, you need a minimum of 62 college credits with 6 in professional education. If you have a Bachelor Degree or above, those 6 credits will be waived. You will also need to apply for a Nevada substitute-teaching license. But if you're looking to work part time, enjoy being with kids, and want to make a little money, it's way better than being a Wal-Mart greeter although I haven't gone that route yet. The sub pay just went up from $83 to $85. We'll take it!

If you just want to volunteer, there are grandmas and grandpa's helping out in many of the classes I've been in. If you have grandkids in elementary schools, you might even be able to help out in their class. You choose your name, such as Nana, and that's what the kids call you. Discipline is not in that job description.

Do you remember how, on the first day of school, you'd write or at least talk about how you spent your summer vacation? Kids today might say, “What summer vacation!” They may have spent most of the summer in school. The school district has 64 elementary schools and half are year round schools. Kids still attend class for the same amount of time as the traditional schools but get breaks at different times of the year. The middle and high schools are all on the traditional summer off schedule. You can see this might present problems for parents and grandparents who want to take the kids on vacation and have elementary kids on tracks and middle or high school kids on the 9-month schedule.

I choose my sub jobs online and opted out of the early morning and evening phone calls. The online system here in Washoe is way better than the one I had in Las Vegas. It lists all the upcoming jobs including the school, grade or specific area, the name of the teacher and the date and time the job begins. I dutifully write down the information although sometimes, my mind is in a fog and I almost go to the wrong school on the wrong day. The subject I choose most often is music since I play the piano. Most of the jobs are 6+ all day ones but be careful. Some are _ days and that may work fine if you live in close proximately to the school.

Okay, calm down I tell myself. I make it to the right school with the required _ hour to spare. The lesson plans, where are the lesson plans? Usually I do find them. Each teacher is different. Some leave materials right there with the plans. Other don't and I go on a search and rescue mission. The one I am rescuing is me. Do they think I've been here before? I haven't a clue where anything is. I can always ask the kids.