It’s 6:45 a.m. A PHS teacher wakes up to an earsplitting alarm. Their throat is sore. Their stomach is aching. Their forehead is burning. And then they just know. There is no way they are going to school today. The teacher reaches for their phone, and quickly opens the AESOP app to indicate that they won’t be able to teach today. Then they throw their phone to the floor, and close their eyes. Moments later, they drift back into a feverish sleep. That is when the clock starts counting down to the school day.
A little over an hour later, administrative assistant Sara Valkonen enters the PHS front office. She opens her computer and sees that that same teacher will be absent today. They haven’t requested a particular substitute to fill in for them. Hopefully, somewhere else in the Bay Area, one of the frequent PUSD subs also saw this on AESOP, and is on their way to PHS.
At 8:16 a.m., a sub opens their car door and accepts the assignment to teach for the day. They park their car and walk into the front office. Valkonen greets them there, and lets them know where they’ll be teaching for the day. When the clock stops at 8:30 a.m. and the bell rings, a class full of students is not missing a teacher.
At 11:33 a.m. that same day, Valkonen receives a text from another teacher. They have a migraine, and have to go home. Valkonen takes a look at the sub’s schedule for the day, but they are teaching a class. So, she opens the master schedule, and sends out emails to the teachers who have a free period, and within ten minutes, the crisis is averted, and the classroom has a teacher.
Valkonen said she is relieved that there is not a shortage of subs this year, when in the past, especially during the pandemic, there have been days with too many teachers missing and not enough subs.
“This year we have been very fortunate that we have had enough subs that will pick up the assignments,” Valkonen said. “Some really lean in and prioritize keeping the curriculum going, and some kind of do less work, but we’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good subs.”
Sometimes, teachers request certain subs to fill in for them. PHS math teacher Auban Willats said she sometimes reaches out to certain subs if she is considering giving an assessment on the day she is gone. Otherwise, she will just make note of her preferred subs on the AESOP app, so that the assignment first goes to them
Having a break from the same routine with a sub can sometimes be fun, freshman Jai Ramakrishnan said.
“Mr. Marquez is an absolute beast. He subbed for me in Spanish, English, and math. He’s fluent in Spanish and was the only sub actually able to help and told us stories when we were done. He’s the G.O.A.T.,” Ramakrishnan said.
PUSD sub Joshua Marquez said that he loves subbing and hopes to use his experience as a sub to become a teacher.
“My [subbing] style varies depending on the age group. In elementary I rule by love, and middle school by fear, and in high school I treat the students as young adults with ambition and I trust them to get their work done,” PUSD sub Joshua Marquez said. “I definitely want to be a full time teacher, and this is kind of a good jumping off point into teaching. Long term, I’m going to go into teaching English abroad.”
Other times, classes with a sub can still maintain the same focus as normal. PUSD sub Ethan Joseph, who subs for STEM classes, said that it is essential that teachers leave enough classwork to keep students occupied; otherwise, classes can get out of hand.
“I try to get students to do work, and help them out when they need it. I like getting to teach stuff, which is why I’m [a sub],” Joseph said. “People will write funny things on the board, and things like that.”
