East Otero School District R-1

Substituting is a wonderful way to gain experience and earn money while maintaining a flexible schedule!  Our subs are a vital piece to the education of students in our district.  Gone are the days of glorified babysitting.  We believe subs have the opportunity to greatly enhance learning in this community.

• Substitute Licenses – please keep your sub license current. The central office needs a copy of your current license for your file.
• Payroll - The central office will print out a report from AESOP each month and give it to payroll. If you have any payroll questions, call Sheryl Wahlert@384-6908. No timesheets will be required.
• Follow lessons plans that teachers leave as closely as possible. If there are no lesson plans, notify the office. The lesson plans are usually located on the teacher’s desk or with the building secretary. They will also leave you any other duties they may have (lunchroom, playground, etc). Other advice is “do not let students tell you how things are done”, follow the lesson plans or ask another teacher for help.
• Primary School - Subs need to remain in building and help students get to their appropriate bus – supervise students leaving.
• Once you have accepted an assignment from AESOP, it is most helpful if you stay with that assignment or if for some reason you do need to cancel, please cancel AS SOON AS YOU ARE ABLE, preferably at least the night before the absence. This will allow AESOP more time to find a new sub, not just the morning as those are usually busy times.
• Please call and let the school know if you are going to be late. If late, they will need to have someone cover the class until you are able to get to class.
• If a student is injured while in your classroom, send them to the office to have the nurse evaluate them and to fill out the necessary paperwork.

• Always check your schedule for changes/cancellations/assigned days.
• When AESOP calls, always select “accept” or “reject”. Do not just hang up. Otherwise, the system will continue to call. If you cannot sub the entire day, then press the option “reject and end calls”.
• If you can only sub part of the day, stay on the line and listen to the entire message. It will give you starting and ending times and some of the days may be for just ½ PM or ½ AM.

Persons wishing to be on our substitute list are employed with the school district on an “on call” basis only. You will be called when needed and/or requested. When school is not in session, substitutes do not work. Persons wishing to serve as substitute teachers in the La Junta Public School System must submit a complete application file to the Superintendent's office. This file includes your application, and other pertinent information as per request of this office. These records plus a withholding tax statement, I-9 report, and a PERA Member Record form are required before placement on the substitute list. For first time employees there is a fingerprinting card to be completed and returned. The employee is responsible for the processing cost which is approximately $39.50. Upon clearance by the CBI, this fee will be refunded to you in your first paycheck. If you do not work for the district, that fee will not be refunded to you. Your file will be screened by the Substitute Coordinator and administration and approved by the Board of Education before placement on the list.

**If you would like your name removed from the list, please notify Substitute Coordinator, Sheryl Wahlert, at 384-6908 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Individuals employed as substitute teachers are not entitled to District benefits of health and/or life insurance because they do not regularly work 20 or more hours per week.

However, state law mandates that PERA (Public Employees Retirement Association) deductions must be taken from each District employee, unless the employee is presently receiving a PERA benefit. If an employee leaves the school district, he may make application for refund of all contributions made to PERA.

Substitute teachers are covered by Pinnacol Assurance, the District Liability and Worker’s Compensation Insurance. If you are injured on the job, notify the school secretary or Personnel Office to complete a First Report of Injury form. It it’s necessary for you to see a physician for those injuries, you must first see one of the District’s Designated Medical Providers: 1) Southern Colorado Clinic, Dr. Nicholas Kurz or 2) Centura Centers for Occupational Medicine (CCOM). Both of these providers are located in Pueblo and mileage reimbursement is allowed and will be paid by Pinnacol Assurance.

A Medicare deduction computed at the rate of .0145 of your monthly gross salary will also be deducted from your check. The District contributes a matching amount.

REPORTING AN INJURY TO A CHILD: If a child is hurt while you are on duty in a school, it is necessary for you to complete an Accident Report form available in the school office.

When it is necessary for a teacher to be absent from school it is the responsibility of the building/teacher to notify the AESOP sub system who will then make arrangements for a substitute. The building secretary may contact you while they enter leave into the sub system. Once you have accepted a position, it will be posted to the system. A calendar of your scheduled days will be available on the AESOP website at www.aesoponline.com. You will also have the option of going onto the website to line up work yourself. An ID number and PIN number will be assigned to each substitute. If a computer is not available, you will have the option of calling 1-800-942-3767 to find work, accept jobs, or cancel previously assigned jobs. Staff members will also be able to post special notes or lessons plans on the website. After 8:00 a.m. each morning, you may receive a call manually from a building secretary or from Sheryl Wahlert, Substitute Coordinator.

File: GCG/GCGA

Part-Time and Substitute Professional Staff Employment/

Qualifications of Substitute Staff

The Board of Education shall maintain an authorized list of personnel to be used for substitute or part-time employment.

The Board authorizes the superintendent to notify and direct persons on the list to perform such service for the district as may be required on a temporary basis. The Board authorizes the substitute coordinator to notify and direct persons on the list to perform as substitute teachers on a temporary basis as needed.

The Board annually shall determine the district's needs for substitute teachers and the availability of substitute teachers who meet the certification requirements of state law.

The Board directs the administration to take any necessary steps to increase the available pool of substitute teachers by encouraging qualified persons to seek provisional substitute certification as provided by state law.

Persons who serve as substitute teachers shall possess a valid certificate or CDE substitute authorization to teach school in Colorado.

Persons employed as substitute teachers shall be assigned as nearly as possible at the grade levels or in the subject areas that they are best qualified by formal education to teach.

Certified or CDE authorized substitute teachers shall be paid at the rate per day established by the Board. While performing teaching duties through consecutive days of teaching in the place of the same regular teacher, an amount shall be added to the basic rate of pay per day as shown below for teacher with Colorado certificates or CDE authorized substitutes.

After the first 15 consecutive days of work, $5 per day shall be added. After 20 consecutive days of work, the substitute shall be paid the amount of $135.00 per day. This rate shall continue until the regular teacher or a replacement returns to the position.

For substitute aides the daily rate shall be $10 less. After 15 consecutive days of work in the same position $5 per day shall be added. After 20 consecutive days in the same position, $10 shall be added. This rate shall continue until the regular aide or a replacement returns to the position. During these consecutive working days, should that substitute teacher miss days for illness or other approved personal reasons, he/she receives no pay for these days missed; however, the counting of consecutive days does not revert back to zero because of the missed days.

There shall be no fringe benefits for short or long-term substitute teachers.

Authorization by the Board to pay personnel performing services on a temporary basis shall constitute employment by the Board for services provided during the period of time covered by such payment. Such payment shall not constitute any assurance or offer of continuing employment without specific Board action.

Every person placed on the authorized list shall be given a copy of this policy prior to performing services pursuant to this policy.

Prior to adding a person's name to the list, a background check shall be carried out in accordance with state law. All persons hired as CDE authorized substitute teachers shall be fingerprinted and sign a notarized form with information about felony or misdemeanor convictions in accordance with state law.

NOTE: “substitute teacher” is defined in state law as:

• a teacher who performs services for a district for four hours or more during each school day, but works on one continuous assignment for a total of less than 90 regular school days, or for less than one semester or equivalent time as determined by the annual school year calendar of the district.
• an itinerant teacher who is employed by a district on a day to day or similar short-term basis as a replacement teacher for a nonprobationary teacher, a probationary teacher or a part-time teacher who is absent or otherwise unavailable (no limit on the number of worked).

Substitute teacher does not include a nonprobationary or probationary teacher who is assigned as a permanent substitute teacher within a school district.

Salary Schedule

Check in at the office upon arrival. Receive special instructions at this time, if any. Inform the office secretary of your presence. Also, as a part of the district’s safety plan, all substitute teachers are required to wear ID badges. The office secretary will provide you with a badge. Safety plans/emergency books are located in each classroom. Cell phones should not be used during class.

Leave a resume of what you have been able to accomplish; indicate any problems you might have had, but also indicate any good responses by the students. If you have any problems or concerns, you will need to contact the building principal, not the Central Office.

A half day of substitute work is defined as:

Elementary Level - A morning assignment would be considered until the lunch period or an afternoon assignment would be a job which begins after the lunch period.

Secondary Level –

Junior High School

• A morning assignment is from 7:45 a.m. to 11:25 am.
• An afternoon assignment is from 11:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. (these assignments may or may not include lunch times; which may include lunch duty)

Senior High School

• A morning assignment would be from 7:45 a.m. until 11:45 a.m.
• An afternoon assignment would be considered from 11:50 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
• Please note that a planning period or lunch may be included in either the morning or afternoon assignment. Lunch times and planning times will vary depending on the teacher’s schedule.

For any period more than the above listed, the substitute will be paid at a full-day rate of pay.

If the substitute is called and arrives at a building, he/she will be paid a full day's salary if the teacher has changed his/her mind and no longer needs a substitute, or if more than one substitute has been called for the job and both arrive at the school for the same job, unless the one who does work is paid only one half day pay as outlined

Substitutes are to report at the following times at each individual school:

• 7:30 a.m. at the Jr/Sr High School
• 7:30 a.m. at the Intermediate
• 7:45 a.m. at the Primary

Substitutes will end their day at approximately 3:30 p.m. or 3:45 p.m. at the Primary School

Primary Grade Center (K-2) – 7:55 a.m. – 3:05 p.m.

Intermediate Grade Center (3-5) - 7:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Jr/Sr High School – 7:45 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
*Wednesday - 7:45 a.m. - 1:31 p.m.

NOTE: All buildings will release at 2:15 p.m. each Wednesday for Staff Development.