I teach self-contained 6th grade Special Ed. We also have a self-contained 5th grade Special Ed teacher who just left for another job. She has been gone for 2 weeks already and long story short...that class wont have a permanent teacher until February 1st but only had plans until the day before Christmas Break. In the interest of not inheriting a class that has missed a month and a half of instruction eek I calmly inquired as to who was lesson planning after break for this class. My admin looked like this-:huh::|-and said "Well, we're going to have to do the best that we can." I think they have a long-term sub, however I don't feel like it's her responsibility to do all that. She's not getting paid as a permanent teacher and plans should be done for her. Also, it might not even be the same person...could be one person for 4 days, someone else for 3 days, etc. I offered to come up with some projects for them to do. I made it clear that I do NOT want to attend or write scheduled IEPs for these students, nor am I doing any complicated unit plans...but I don't know what they're gonna do besides copy what the 5th gen ed teachers are doing (too hard) or give them worksheets for 3 weeks. Those kids are going to go bat$hit crazy! This seems unfair to them. I figure I can at least look over IEPs, talk with the old teacher (we are friendly), and find some kind of resources. Any advice? Also, has your school ever faced this situation? Would a 3 week sub be responsible for plans? I'm only helping cause we're on break and I have some extra time! Hopefully they don't get used to this.
A former colleague was on emergency leave for a death in her family. I, with the help of other grade level team members, wrote her sub plans for the week.
Long term subs do the planning here too, assuming it's one person the whole time. I'm sure he/she could use some help though. Is there any way you could offer to assist or collaborate with them? It's nice of you either way!
I think the school can afford to be selective and make it clear to the long term sub that planning would be involved. Based on what we keep hearing (many people looking for jobs, even just long-term sub jobs to have some stability), the school could pick and choose. If that doesn't work, maybe a couple of teacher could take on the responsibility (volunteering) but it shouldn't fall on 1 teacher.
I had this happen a couple of years ago. It was for about a month & I think the class had the same LTS. The sub & I worked together to figure out what the class was going to do.
I planned as a long term sub. I would just make sure the materials/curriculum is already laid out for them to make it easier.
Any sub over 2 weeks is responsible for plans. Now, I have written plans for a friend in an emergency situation (usually I just copy my plans and tweak for their classroom). It's nice of you to offer and might make your job a bit easier next year. Honestly, look at what you want your students to know before coming to you next year. Then focus units on these skills and strategies. If you have to write the plans, you might as well have them benefit you.
This could be a great opportunity for a job seeker to come in and shine during a long-term sub position! If I were in the admin's shoes, I would try to market this opportunity in that way.
I agree! The problem is, my school has a huge sub problem. We are kind of "over the river and through the woods" and nobody likes to take jobs at our schools because it's usually a commute. So I suspect it wont be the same person for 3 weeks....and somebody there for 2-3 days at a time wont care enough to do decent plans. Thanks for the advice though. I will talk to my AP and collaborate with whomever is in there. 5th grade said they were starting Geometry, so I have some good things for that. We'll figure it out! Time to go do Christmas.
Last year, the mother of one of my colleagues passed away. This particular co-worker is actually a very close friend, so I planned for the entire time (almost two weeks) she was out. Thankfully, though, she and I taught the same subject, so I just gave her sub my plans each day (along with copies and any ancillary materials). I am completely certain she would've done the same thing for me!
Long term subs do the planning where I am, but they get teacher pay after working 2 consistent days in the same classroom. Maybe your principal could give your class an extra "special" time (art, PE, music), so that you could do the planning during your paid hours.
After I student taught I subbed for 3 weeks for a special education teacher. I made all of the plans with the help of the paras. Could they help the sub? Fortunately it was at the end of the year so I didn't have to do anything with IEPs.
