Back to Subbing Week

This blog is the first in a three part series sharing insights and advice from Arlington Public Schools’ Instructional Substitute Specialist, Amaris Johnson. Amaris recently completed the Substitute System Leaders Academy which has helped her bring more strategic focus to how she works with subs.  Learn more about the Academy here.

“I couldn’t help overhearing, you are studying to be a special education teacher?” It was the second day of our “Back to Subbing Week” professional development for substitute teachers, and a Supervisor in our Special Education Department had a big smile on her face. I had introduced her to one of the subs who inspired the event, an aspiring teacher who had asked me for training on substitute teaching in special education classes. As I walked away, they were deep in a conversation about starting a career in special education. This was one of many connections made during Arlington Public Schools’ inaugural Back to Subbing Week event.  

The idea for Back to Subbing Week emerged last spring when our team in HR realized that teachers have a week of orientation and training to prepare them for the school year, but nothing was in place for the substitutes. We thought that this would be the perfect time for subs to come back and prepare for the coming school year just like the teachers.

With this idea in mind, we surveyed substitutes to ask what they wanted training on and then collaborated with various departments across Arlington Public Schools (APS) to create presentations about their respective areas, while allowing subs to ask questions. Back to Subbing Week offered something different every day for subs to learn. The weeklong event was set up a la carte style. We created an agenda of trainings and sent it to subs in advance; they were able to pick and choose which days and times to attend based on their interests. Just over one third of our substitutes voluntarily participated and many more emailed me to say they couldn’t make it but wanted to come next year.  

Reflecting back on that special education connection, I am struck by how meaningful it was to bring our substitutes together to meet each other, learn, and interact with district leaders. If you are thinking about organizing professional development for substitutes, here three lessons we learned in our inaugural event:

1. All Kinds of Subs Want Training: The attendance was diverse, we had subs that have subbed for 20 years mixed with subs who just started. There were subs straight out of college, subs who are stay at home parents that want to give back to the school system, retired military, and other retired professionals. I had subs that were 20 years old, all the way up to subs in their late 70s. No matter their background, they all have one common denominator: they want to be great subs for APS.
2. Invite Presenters from Other Departments: Seeing how many subs attended was also a visual example to Directors and other APS personnel of the multitude of substitute teachers that want to be knowledgeable in their role. Presenters were just as excited as the substitutes. Word has spread among departments, and I have had many more ask me if they can be a part of this next year.
3. Peer Learning is Powerful: Subs also learned from one another, as we had a mix of brand new and experienced subs, as well as retired teachers who have become subs. Many subs told me how meaningful it was to connect with other subs.

Substitutes emailed me for weeks with many thanks for the training, and were excited about everything they had learned. They were excited to sub and it showed in our first couple weeks of fill rate. I am already gathering ideas on how to continue this week of professional development by making it more meaningful each year. Substitutes are excited to get into classrooms and feel confident covering for the absent teacher.