Planning for a Long-Term Sub

Good morning!

Today finds me with 4 work days left before maternity leave. Baby girl could come any day now! I am so excited. I thought it would be an appropriate time to show you how I planned for a long-term sub, and hopefully put your mind at ease if you are in panic mode. :)

Planning for a long-term sub can be a daunting task, so I've included some of the information I gave mine. After scouring a lot of blogs and writing out a lot of lists, I knew I wanted her to have as much information as possible when I left. Maybe I went overboard, but I want her to feel well-equipped for the task at hand!

Here's my sub binder:

 

Inside, I used tabs to separate my schedule, school/classroom procedures, miscellaneous helpful info, student info, and lesson plans.

 

Here's a look at some of the info in the "Helpful Info" tab. Obviously, this is going to look different for everyone. But these are things I thought of throughout the year that would be helpful for my sub to know-- things that are specific to my job, like carpool, hanging artwork, picking up 5th graders from across the parking lot, etc. Run through each day in your mind, and think about what makes that day different than the others. You'll be surprised at how busy you are, and how many little things there are to tell your sub! Other things in your binder might include: where the printer is located, which keys work for which door, how to log on to your computer, morning meetings, grading, storing assignments, passing back assignments, etc.

Being an art teacher, I know my sub might be a little overwhelmed with some of the everyday duties that have become second nature to me. So I included a page on clay and how to use the kiln. If you work in a special subject, you may be the only one who knows this valuable information and need to share it!

 

The pink tabs at the top of the binder mark where we are in our lesson plans. I have had these for several weeks, because you never know when a baby is going to come. That way she will know exactly where we are and what we are doing. I've also made tabs on the side to separate each grade level's plans.

In the front of the binder, I wrote a note with a few last-minute details and end of year duties.

In the back, I added extra blank lesson plan copies.

 

A few more things to consider:

-Be in touch while planning for your leave; chances are your sub needs to know some things before he/she comes. It will give them peace of mind to hear from you.

-Send them an outline of assignments so they can have a basic idea of what to expect

-Send them a list of links to assignments if you have found them online, or if it has pictures of examples. As an art teacher, I use Pinterest often. I click on the website connected to the assignment we are doing, and copy the link for my sub. You also might want to bookmark these on your computer.

-Change your homepage from your school email if that is what it immediately opens to... Mine is automatically signed in, but I don't really want someone else to have access to my email.

-Label anything and everything. A lot of us label drawers and cabinets for our students, but it's helpful for a sub too. I have a storage closet full of random things that had to be labeled, and it really didn't take much time. They don't have to be fancy.

-Come up with more emergency sub plans if you don't have many. I made bookmarks on my computer for alternate assignments, in case my sub isn't comfortable doing certain projects, or if one class gets too far ahead. This may be easier in a subject like art, but it could work for your subject as well.

Hope this information was helpful to you, and please comment if you have any questions or other ideas!

Mrs. E