Working as a Substitute Teacher - Avis employé Substitute Teacher Edustaff

great company. they always have flexible hours

no jobs available in the summer

-They're a very supportive company, for the most part, and easy to get in touch with quickly. *The chat feature is very helpful. -You're allowed to sign up for up to 6 different school systems so there's more work options available to you. *You can also usually work as a paraprofessional, librarian, lunch/recess monitor, etc. *They pay way less but if you need to make money that day and still need to work but don't want the level of responsibility of classroom teacher. In my area, these jobs are literally always available, even same day. -Unless you're in a long term sub job or other special arrangement you essentially make your own schedule. You can choose when/where you want to work, often at the last minute if you're suddenly available. *You can pick up a job starting in half an hour or less when the mood strikes. *Barring illness or emergency, if you want to cancel a job, do it a couple weeks out/as far away from the date and time as possible. -You get to meet a lot of new and really interesting people, and if you work at one school often, the environment is good for fostering friendships with coworkers. -The students are generally nice people and classes can be fun. -It's rewarding to talk with the students and learn their plans for college, their secret crochet talent, what subjects they like, etc. -You get a W-2 and don't have to deal with taxes as a 1099 employee. -if you encounter a school/class that isn't a good fit for you can choose never to sub for them again, and if you want, to change that district for a new one. *If the district/school is wild and doesn't support or enforce any sort of discipline, you never have to work with them again. -You don't have a manager constantly lurking over your shoulder, or coworkers you're forced to see everyday since you can just choose other jobs. -

There's a lot, but most are typical of all substitute teaching jobs. As far as EduStaff-specific cons, there aren't a ton, but the ones they have are pretty bad. -if a school or district decides they don't like you for whatever reason (they don't have to provide one), EduStaff immediately removes you from the school/district. They claim to examine both sides but I doubt that, given how many ridiculous complaints/problems people in the substitute teaching subreddit mention daily. *Ultimately the school is their client so even if they did truly investigate it wouldn't matter. It is kind of funny though to get "fired" based on a child's unbiased and perfect and 100% accurate recall of an event. -They don't really prepare you much so you're thrown to the wolves your first few times. *Training is about 40 hours (UNPAID & should be illegal but 🤷‍♀️) of outdated video modules with no option for a transcript. It's 50% common sense lectures about not being weird with kids and how to use basic social skills, and 50% intense deep dives into important but confusing voiceovers about laws relevant to you. *You attend a sort of "seminar" which mostly consists of document processing and then a human performing the "don't be weird" half of training videos. *Your training is complete. Good luck on your first assignment! -No way to get unemployment during the summer, but EduStaff doesn't provide any assignments or provide any sort of help. Lots of programs exist during summer, they should be getting on those contracts. -similar to the above, EduStaff fulfills its purpose but stops there. There is no innovation, no new ideas, no trying new things here. Firms dedicated to staffing substitutes for online teachers already exist, and EduStaff remains content with the status quo and bad software. -The entire company feels stagnant. Nothing ever changes for them; they look exactly the same as 3 year ago, there's no forum for employees to connect, even the ads I've seen in the wild are the same generic "excellence in staffing" one. -Poor pay and lack of benefits: *The district blames the agency for prices, the agency blames the district, and both intentionally leave out that both have power to help solve it. *Schools complain they have a desperate shortage of qualified subs but then pay them next to nothing, bait and switch on undesirable jobs, and don't leave class plans or come up with overly complicated lesson plans *Whoever's fault it is, you don't get paid nearly enough if you're not in a huge hub. -Lack of information/support about transitioning to classroom teaching as a career, the main goal of many subs. -The periodic give-aways and special bonuses for referrals they advertise are borderline insulting and I can't write its shame here and haven't referred anyone because it sounds like begging. -No sick time pay for subs despite the new law in Michigan. Legal but scummy. -Despite being a w2 employee, there are no benefits, aside from catastrophic injury insurance, which isn't actually health insurance.