SAN ANTONIO – The 2024-25 school year is just around the corner. Northside ISD teachers, faculty and staff are preparing for children to roam its schools’ hallways.
Another group preparing for the upcoming school year is substitute teachers. District officials said they will always need substitutes.
“Even though we do have lots of people in the sub(stitute) pool, we still need more,” Northside ISD human resources director for auxiliary/classified/substitute employees Kittiya Johnson said.
NISD has about 2,500 people in its pool of substitutes. Anyone interested in becoming a substitute teacher can apply now.
Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. The district said it prefers candidates to have some experience working with children.
Once applicants are selected for the NISD Substitute Program, they will enter orientation.
“If you are selected to be a substitute, we’ll bring you into an orientation where you actually finish the onboarding process,” Johnson said.
During orientation, future substitutes will learn day-to-day duties and how they get into a classroom when a teacher is out.
“The teacher will enter that absence into that system, and it will begin notifying substitutes,” said Johnson.
That system will then find an available substitute teacher who can teach at the school missing a teacher and the grade. Substitutes can spell out which subjects, grades and days work best for them.
Once a substitute is found, they are notified and can say whether or not they can cover that classroom.
Pay for substitutes is based on education experience and whether or not the substitute is a short-term or long-term substitute.
A full breakdown of NISD’s substitute pay can be found here.
Johnson was a former substitute teacher before becoming a full-time teacher, assistant principal and principal. She was appointed to her current role in Nov. 2021.
Johnson said a substitute teacher’s No. 1 goal should be helping children grow.
“I just enjoyed going in there, being helpful, feeling like I made a difference in children’s lives,” Johnson said.
Northside ISD will welcome teachers, faculty and staff on Aug. 12. Students will return to the classrooms on Aug. 19.