EMPLOYMENT OF SUBSTITUTES

 

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER PLAN

 

Marion Community Schools employs approximately 268 certified staff members to provide a positive learning experience for approximately 4,500 students during the course of a 180-day school year. It is inevitable that one or more employees will be absent from their assigned instructional duties on any one given day due to such things as personal illness and/or business, staff development activities, curriculum development, and student field trips. It is imperative that students continue to learn during the absence of regular instructor. Therefore, the school district has developed this document to facilitate the process for selection, licensing, and training of substitute teachers.

 

I.                    Marion Community Schools will seek first to employ licensed teachers holding a valid regular teaching license. A person who holds a valid Indiana Teacher License and who meets all other local criteria for substitute teaching will not need to apply for a Substitute Teaching Certificate.

 

II.                 The Indiana Professional Standards Board issues all new Substitute Teaching Certificates upon the condition that the candidate is recommended by the Superintendent of a school district. Marion Community Schools MAY recognize and accept any and all valid/current Substitute Teacher Certificates.

 

III.               The minimum education requirement for Marion Community Schools substitute teachers is high school diploma / GED. Original high school diploma / GED transcripts will be required.

 

IV.              Education is about working with children. Therefore, a prospective substitute teacher must have previous experiences of instructing and/or supervising children. Examples of these are daycare work, camp work, life guarding, private or public school work, church youth work, etc.

 

V.                 Each prospective substitute teacher will be required to give both personal and previous employer references and to provide an expanded criminal report.

 

VI.             Each applicant will be required to complete a substitute teaching application to be followed by an interview with a member of the Personnel Department.  After successful completion of a personal interview, the applicant will fill out an application for an Indiana Substitute Teacher Certificate and other employment related forms.

 

Expanded Criminal History (ECH) along with reference checks will be conducted prior to the Assistant Superintendent recommending the applicant for a Substitute Teacher Certificate and/or acceptance of a certificate currently held by the applicant. 

Each potential employee interviewed will be questioned about the potential employee's expanded criminal history, if necessary. Failure to answer honestly any question related to the expanded criminal history may be cause for termination of the potential employee if eventually hired.

All costs of obtaining the expanded criminal history are the responsibility of the potential employee or employee. In all cases, the individual shall sign, prior to beginning employment duties, a "Records Release Form" or submit an expanded criminal history report obtained within the last six (6) months.

 

VII.            Evaluations will be conducted regarding each substitute teacher by building principals, building secretaries, teachers and students where the substitute teacher has been assigned. The Assistant Superintendent will distribute forms periodically for this purpose.

 

VIII.         The purpose of this document is to ensure that substitute teachers for Marion Community Schools are responsible and properly licensed or certified so that they may enhance the education of the student. The selection and assignment of substitute teachers is the responsibility of the Assistant Superintendent.