. PAUL PREPARATORY SCHOOL ST EST. 2003 Substitute Teacher Handbook
WELCOME This booklet is a guide for substitute teaching at St. Paul Preparatory School. It is our hope that the information will serve to inform and to assist in finding answers to the many questions you may have regarding substitute teaching. St. Paul Preparatory School recognizes substitute teachers as a very valuable asset to our educational process. As a substitute teacher at our school, you are a very important person. Whether your stay is short or continues over a long period of time, each time you enter a classroom to teach you are responsible for the most important resource we have in this school -- our students. St. Paul Preparatory DIRECTORY Principal, Dr. Chuck Briscoe 651-288-4615 cbriscoe@stpaulprep.org Front Desk/Main 651-288-4606 ext. 606 information@stpaulprep.org 2
QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS As a substitute at St. Paul Prep, you will need to complete: a) W-4 Employee s Withholding Allowance Certificate; b) Employment Eligibility Verification (must have driver s license and social security card for identification); c) Online Background Check As soon as all necessary paperwork is on file, you will be added to the SPP substitute list. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS In your role as a substitute teacher, you may have access to student records and reports. These should be handled with extreme care. All student records are confidential; they are maintained in order to provide information on child or student development for the professional staff only. Any and all information contained in these materials should not be discussed with students, parents, host parents or anyone who is not an employee of St. Paul Preparatory School. If you have any questions regarding this policy, please speak with the principal. Substitute teachers are responsible for knowing the principals of child development, accepted teaching techniques, educational programs, and the rules and regulations of St. Paul Preparatory School. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with our student handbook which can be found online at: http://stpaulprep.org/studentforms.html under the heading: School Forms or a copy can be obtained from the front desk. As a substitute teacher traveling from school to school, you will observe many styles of teaching. We hope that you will understand that not all teachers teach in the same manner. We ask that you please make every effort to carry on the program of the regular teacher and to fit in with the school environment. Maintain professional standards in each teaching situation. We would ask that you please be careful not to criticize a school teacher or student at St. Paul Preparatory School in front of other students, teachers or in other school environments. If you do have any concerns about a student or teacher at St. Paul Prep, please speak directly with the principal. Although it is a prerogative seldom used, SPP reserves the right to terminate the employment of a substitute teacher. Reasons for such action could include lack of initiative, unsatisfactory teaching, arriving to work late, or undue difficulty with discipline. CALLING PROCEDURES Substitutes whose services are requested will be contacted in advance or as an absence occurs during the school day. 3
Take note of the specifics pertaining to each accepted position including the campus location, the grade and/or subject, and the name of the teacher who will be absent. To help us stay in contact, please notify the front desk receptionist at 651-288-4606 of any change in e-mail or phone number. Also, if you are temporarily unavailable, or wish to be removed from the substitute teacher list, please notify the front desk receptionist. PROCEDURES FOR THE DAY Unless you have received a late morning call, you are expected to arrive at your assigned school campus on time. If teaching a block 1 class, report to school by 8:00 a.m. for our downtown East campus and 7:30 a.m. for our St. Thomas West campus. Otherwise, please report at the time designated to you by the school contact or principal. Go directly to the front desk or the principal s office and sign in. This is where you will receive lesson plans or class materials for your assignment for that day if you have not received them in advance. Obtain the key (if necessary) to the teacher s room. Ask about any early morning duties or other assigned duties and find out where your first teaching station is located. Begin immediately to familiarize yourself with your teaching day. If you have not received the teacher s lesson plans at the front desk and find none in the teacher s room, tell the principal or receptionist immediately. Knowing that this occasionally happens, SPP has had all teachers create a sub folder to have on hand in the front office so that a lesson plan is always available. Be sure to take attendance on PowerSchool. 1. To take attendance, go to: https://nacel.powerschool.com/subs/pw.html to enter SPP s PowerTeacher Substitute sign in. 2. Select St. Paul Preparatory School from the School pull down menu. 3. Select the teacher you are subbing for from the Teacher pull down menu. 4. Enter SPP-sub as the password. 5. Click Sign in and the page will load. 6. After the page has loaded, you will see the PowerTeacher Start Page. This is where you will take attendance. 7. Click on the chair for the corresponding class you are taking attendance for. A list of students will appear. Note: You will need to know whether it is an A day or B day. E.g. 4(A) represents Block 4 on A days, and 4(B) represents Block 4 on B days. 8. In PowerSchool, all students are presumed present unless you mark them otherwise. a. If a student is present, do not make any changes to their attendance code. b. To mark a student tardy, click on the Attendance Code pull down menu and select T (Tardy-Unexcused). Then click on the blank space next to the student s name. The selected code will appear. Repeat as needed. c. To mark a student absent, click on the Attendance Code pull down menu and select A (Absent Unexcused). The click on the blank space next to the student s name. The selected code will appear. Repeat as needed. 4
9. When you are done taking attendance, be sure to click Submit. If you make a mistake or need to change the attendance, you can reenter it by clicking on the corresponding chair again and following steps 7 and 8. Other than the forty-five minute duty-free lunch period, unscheduled time should be used for preparing materials, or doing other needed tasks. Please use this time to either familiarize yourself with lesson plans or fill out the report sheet at the end of this handbook. Unless specifically directed to do otherwise, do not grade student work or tests. Save the ungraded items for the teacher to see upon his/her return to school. If you have any questions/problems, ask a neighboring teacher or the principal. IN THE CLASSROOM Hopefully, most or all of the information needed to carry on the regular classroom program will be available to you when you arrive at your teaching station. We request that you follow lesson plans or specific teacher instructions as closely as possible. If there is anything in the lesson plans you do not do, please leave a note of explanation. There may be other things with which you will have to become familiar such as seating charts, special schedules, lunch schedule, bell schedule, fire and lock down drill information, and instructions to follow in case of accident or student illness. Be aware some rules and procedures will vary. These are some of the many responsibilities that might be yours during a substitute teaching day. We will notify you of any special circumstances for the day. If you have any questions, please contact the front desk or a neighboring teacher. A business-like and respectful attitude toward students usually merits the respect a teacher deserves. If there are students who become major discipline problems and/or disrupt the teaching atmosphere to the extent that you cannot carry on your duties, contact the front desk and send the student to the front office for appropriate action. If no one is available at the front desk, please contact the principal. In all other normal teaching situations, the substitute teacher is expected to be able to handle the routine discipline problems and any other normal behavior that is exhibited by students. SCHOOL POLICIES These policies are general, but very important. Classroom materials and supplies should be used with discretion, properly cared for during the day, and left in orderly fashion at the end of the day. If you are in need of a material or supply, please notify the receptionist at the front desk. All money collected in the classroom for any reason should be removed from the classroom at the end of the teaching day and turned into the Principal s Office. 5
If a person not connected with the school wants information about a child or permission to take a child from the room, refer that person to the Principal s office and alert the office. Under no circumstances should a child be released without permission of the principal or without clearing with the receptionist at the front desk for confirmation of parent permission. Order should be maintained within classrooms, hallways, commons, or in any area of the school. Do not shout, and at no time are you to administer corporal punishment. Again, if you are having a problem, notify the principal. All cases of accident or illness are to be reported immediately to the principal or front desk. No medicine is to be administered to students. You are responsible for learning about emergency procedures in each building where you teach. Please notify the principal or receptionist if you are not aware of these procedures. Information concerning students, which may be confidential in nature, should be kept confidential by the substitute teacher. AT THE END OF THE DAY When you leave your classroom at the end of the day, please make sure that it is tidy and that the classroom door is closed and locked. When you have completed your work, check out with the school secretary. Report anything that happened during that day that the principal should know. Complete and sign a time-sheet. Validate your parking. Find out at this time, if possible, if your services will be required again for the following day. Return to the secretary any packets or forms which have been given to you during the period of your substituting. At the end of your assignment, please be sure to leave a comprehensive report for the regular teacher. Please pick up at the front desk if you need another copy of this report. Indicate the work you covered, any homework assigned, any discipline problems encountered, and any departure from the lesson plans of the regular teacher. Positive statements concerning students or the entire class are important as well. If it is necessary to contact the teacher about any specific information, obtain the teacher s telephone number or e-mail address from the school receptionist. 6
GENERAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION Once you have applied for a substitute teacher position and have worked in the school in that capacity, you will remain on the list until you have notified the school receptionist that you wish to be removed. Substitute pay is based on days worked and reported on a weekly time sheet, which is to be signed and turned in each day/week you substitute. Substitute teachers are paid on the 15 th and 30 th of the month and payroll checks are either mailed to the address provided or directly deposited into the account specified at the time your paperwork was submitted. Substitute teachers are not eligible for benefits. SUBSTITUTE TEACHER PAY RATES AND SALARY INFORMATION $17.00 per hour $50.00 per ½ day $105.00 per day OTHER PERTINENT POLICIES Non-Discrimination Policy St. Paul Preparatory School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or disability in administration of its admissions and scholarship programs, the administration of its educational, athletic, or other school programs, or its employment practices. Tobacco-Free Schools St. Paul Preparatory School provides a tobacco-free environment for its students, staff and citizens. The district s buildings, grounds and vehicles have been designated as smoke-free. Drug and Alcohol Offense Saint Paul Preparatory School forbids the use of drugs and/or alcohol on school grounds and at school-sponsored activities by students, staff, and citizens. Harassment and Violence Policy St. Paul Preparatory School believes that religious, racial or sexual harassment and violence is inappropriate in school and in the workplace. If students or employees of the Saint Paul Preparatory School have concerns or complaints regarding religious, racial or sexual harassment, please contact the principal or the front desk. Please check with the principal if you wish to receive copies of complete policies on the above matters. Emergency Procedures See SPP Safety and Security Plan 7
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER COMPREHENSIVE REPORT Name: Date: Class: What went well? What issues or challenges did you face? What was covered? What were the students able to accomplish by the end of the class period? Any behavior (good or bad) the teacher should know about? Comments/Recommendations: Signature 8
PERSONAL SUBSTITUTE TEACHER S ASSIGNMENT RECORD DATE SCHOOL SUBJECT NAME OF ABSENT TEACHER REMARKS 9