Boost Your School Sub Pool: Five Strategies to Try This Year

For many schools this week marks the start of the 18-19 school year and time to get back into the swing of things. Although data tells us most teachers won’t be absent much in these first few weeks, it also means that now is the time to set up systems and strategies to ensure you’re ready for the (inevitable) absences to come and the substitute teachers who will (hopefully) fill them.

About Those Fill Rates
Consistently we hear about the substitute teacher shortage, but when we look at data from districts across the country, it doesn’t look a lot like a shortage. In most districts roughly 50% of registered substitutes work 75-90% of filled requests; and if the remaining 50% worked anywhere from 5-10 days more (depending on the district), 100% of sub requests would be filled. Requirements, licensing, and hiring practices vary by state and by district, but nowhere is it easy or effortless to become a substitute. To break it down: lots of people are jumping through the hoops to become a sub, but more than half don’t stick with it.

Subs Vote With Their Feet
In a tight labor market, where autonomy and flexibility are the biggest incentives, it’s important to remember that subs will vote with their feet. They work where they want to, when they want to, or not at all; so understanding and influencing their decisions is critical. This is especially true for historically low coverage school sites, where we commonly see the percentage of “returning” subs at less than 10%.

This isn’t a recruitment challenge, it’s a retention problem. And to meaningfully address substitute retention we need to start with the experience at schools, where our subs are working day-to-day. (Side note: Sub pay is also a huge issue that most certainly influences retention. But like anything related to school finance, it’s complicated. For the sake of this blog post—and schools everywhere—we’re focused on factors that are immediately within school control.)

Our Top Five School-Level Strategies to Boost Substitute Retention

1. Share Knowledge.
New substitute teachers are strangers to your school culture and community. And before they can even hope to lead a classroom of students in learning, they need to establish themselves as credible adults on your campus. Consider what knowledge a stranger needs to successfully navigate your school—everything from student arrival, to recess rules, and even how and when students can take bathroom breaks. It’s often this institutional knowledge, second nature for your school staff but foreign to subs, that makes it harder for subs to assert confidence as adults on campus.

2. Plan Engaging Activities.
We’ve found that there’s a disconnect between teachers and substitutes, in terms of what each think subs can do instructionally. With almost no dialogue between these two critically important stakeholders, the status quo persists; and more often than not it’s worksheets, a movie, or silent reading. These are actually some of the toughest activities to manage well because they aren’t terribly engaging or meaningful (and the kids know it!); they almost demand micromanagement of student behavior. Try leaving subs something more interesting to work with that students will be excited about!

3. Designate Student-Sub Ambassadors.
Even if you have all the knowledge and the best activities possible, you’re likely going to miss something. It’s inevitable. The best way to combat this is to prepare the people who already have the answers to be trusted advisers. Students can be powerful allies for substitutes if they are well prepared, respected by their peers, and recognized for their contribution. Sub ambassadors are win-win; they give your subs backup in the classroom, where they need it most, and your students a chance to shine as leaders.

4. Roll Out the Red Carpet.
Ok, we know you don’t actually have a red carpet. But in our interviews with subs we’ve heard consistently that how warm the welcome is matters; it has a huge impact on the sub’s experience and willingness to return. Being welcoming doesn’t have to mean a Starbucks gift card (though it really couldn’t hurt). It’s more often about small, human-centered actions like: a smile, a thank you, making sure subs knows where to park, where to find the restrooms, and where to stash their lunch, that can make a sub feel less like a placeholder and more like a person.

5. Ask Them!
It’s funny how many schools know that the best sub relationships are recurring, and yet how few actually ask subs if they’ll come back. And what about asking subs about their day? Asking subs for feedback on their experience makes them much more likely to return, especially if you show that you’re invested and willing to address concerns. We recommend creating a feedback form, either virtually or on paper. Here’s our version, which you could easily recreate on Google Forms; you could even share the short URL on a hand-written thank you note!

It definitely takes some effort to get initiatives like these off the ground, but luckily Substantial is here to help! Ask us about piloting our new online tool to make planning and preparing for subs radically easier:
hello@substantialclassrooms.org