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 Samantha Romero at 384-6900 or Sheryl Wahlert at 384-6908.

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 lesson plans on the website. After 8:00 a.m. each morning, you may receive a call manually from Sheryl Wahlert, Substitute Coordinator, or Samantha Romero, Sub Caller.

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.

Check in at the office upon arrival. Receive special instructions at this time, if any. Inform the office secretary of your presence.

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:

1. 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
2. Middle School
   • A morning assignment is from 7:55 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (or lunch time)
   • An afternoon assignment is from 12: 05 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. (or after lunch)
3. High School
   • A morning assignment would be from 7:45 a.m. until 11:10 a.m.
   • An afternoon assignment would be considered from 11: 10 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. (includes lunch break)
   • Please note that a planning period may be included in either the morning or afternoon assignment. It 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 above.

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

• 7:30 a.m. at the High School
• 7:45 a.m. at the Middle School
• 7:45 a.m. at the Intermediate
• 7:45 a.m. at the Primary

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

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

Intermediate Grade Center (3-5) - 7:50 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.

Middle School – 8:00 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.

High School – 7:45 a.m. - 3:12 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.