Have you thought about becoming a substitute teacher, and want to know about the application process? If so, this article is for you.
Substitute teaching is a great way to get your foot in the door if you want a career in the field of education. In addition to being able to experience teaching many grade levels, it’s a useful way to see if you’d enjoy teaching before investing in a degree or full teaching license.
However, if you’re thinking of working as a substitute teacher in the state of Nevada, there are a few things you should consider before applying to be one. The process takes over a month to complete and requires more steps than you might expect.
(Side Note: Every state has its own system. However, many states have similar requirements as Nevada, such as education level or background check. Certification Map has a list of every state’s requirements to become a sub. Just click on your state and scroll down towards the bottom to find out where to start.)
Before diving into the application process, you need to consider if it’s the right job for you. The reality is that substitute teaching isn’t a viable long-term job for many people. The job doesn’t pay well enough to live on by itself and health insurance isn’t on the table. Just for those reasons alone, most people who become substitute teachers do so with the understanding that it’s just temporary or part-time work.
As a result, it’s common for substitute teachers to be college students, retired teachers, and recent graduates who are looking to get hired as teachers by the schools they tend to sub at. Basically, it’s part-time work with a lot of responsibility and the option to choose your workdays and workplace.
For more on this topic, check out: Why Should You Be a Substitute Teacher?
If you’re still interested in applying, here’s what the process for doing so is like. First, just like regular teachers, substitute teachers need a valid substitute teaching license. Unlike other states, Nevada only has two kinds of sub licenses: a substitute teaching license and an emergency substitute teaching license.
What is the Standard License?
The first one is the standard license that allows you to sub in any K-12 classroom and is for those who want to work as a sub for an extended period during the school year. This means people with this license can either work in a classroom for one day or for a prolonged amount of time; such as if the main teacher is on an extended leave of absence. However, these subs can also fill in if a position has yet to be filled by a licensed teacher who is under contract to work at a particular school. The initial license is good for 3 years, and renewing the license lasts for about 6 years.
In order to qualify for the standard license, you need to have either:
What is the Emergency License?
Whereas the emergency substitute license is only for a time when there’s a specific need for a sub in a smaller school district. Since this type of sub is only needed for a specific situation, these licenses are uncommon. This license is good for 1 year, but can be renewed up to 2 more times.
In order to qualify for the emergency license, you need to have a high school diploma or an equivalent (such as a GED). You will also need to sign this form.
As the emergency substitute license is valid for a shorter time and is only issued under certain circumstances, it’s better to go for the standard sub license instead.
Steps to Apply for Licensure
Both licenses also require a background check from either a police station or an approved background check business is also required. The reason for this is because school districts don’t want to hire someone if they’re a danger to students. The fingerprint card for the background check must be FBI form FD-258. You can mail it or submit it electronically (the latter is preferable).
After that, you’ll need to fill out an online application, gather all required documentation, pay the licensure fee, and submit all paperwork to Nevada’s Department of Education. There are offices are in two locations, Carson City and Las Vegas. From there, you have to wait about a month to see if your application gets approved.
For the online application, you will also need to make an OPAL account, as the Department of Education no longer accepts paper applications. OPAL (Online Portal for Applications and Licensure) is a site used for all areas of licensure, including applying for a license, getting credits accounted for, and renewing your license. All documents must be uploaded as PDFs.
It’s also important to note that while Nevada’s Department of Education has changed some of the requirements for renewal in recent years, this is the basic procedure you will be following.
After you receive your license by email, you’ll be eligible to apply for a job as a substitute teacher. From this point on, your school district’s website probably won’t be listing further information until you start applying.
Generally, you can apply at any time of the year (including summer) because new subs are always needed.
When you’re filling out an application, you’ll need to list basic information about yourself, gather requested documentation, and contact information for your references.
For your references, you will be instructed to list at least three people and to only include professional references. Generally, this means listing past supervisors or anyone who oversaw your work. The references will be contacted to give you a brief recommendation that will be about a few sentences long.
Once you have submitted the application, you should be contacted for a job interview. During the interview, you’ll be asked a lot of questions that aim to see if you are enthusiastic about teaching and good at working with children. The session will likely take place at the school district building in the office of substitute teaching.
How well you do at the interview will determine whether you’ll be hired or not.
Once you’ve received an offer to work in the school district you applied to, you’ll be informed about when orientation is and what paperwork to bring with you. The school district you’ve applied to might only schedule one orientation day per month.
Generally, you will be asked to bring two forms of ID (e.g. a driver’s license and a passport), a canceled check (as you will be paid through direct deposit once a month), and a copy of your sub license.
During orientation, you’ll receive a lot of paperwork and learn about how to choose jobs on a separate website from the school district’s main site. In addition that, you’ll also be educated on various laws and safety regulations, and get a crash course on classroom management.
As soon as all of the paperwork has been collected and processed, you should be able to start looking for jobs.
If you are interested in being a substitute teacher, I urge you to start the application process before the new school year starts. The reason why is that around this time, school districts send out letters of reasonable assurance to current substitute teachers to gauge how many of them will be returning. From the responses they’ll be collecting, they will see how many new hires they’ll need.
This is the basic path your school district will likely follow. Nonetheless, now that you have a better idea of how to become a substitute teacher, you should be more prepared than the average applicant.
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