All substitutes guides

Your assignment day, start to finish

Essential
7 min

It is 9pm and you are working tomorrow at a school you have never been to.

A short video for this is in production

The written walkthrough below is complete and current — it is the same steps the video will show.

Short clips for this

These short clips are in production — the written steps below cover the same actions today.

Find your upcoming assignment

Coming soon

Check in when you arrive

Coming soon

Check out at the end of the day

Coming soon

Submit your end-of-day report

Coming soon
By the end you can
  • Have everything you need before you leave the house
  • Know what to do when there is no lesson plan
  • Close the day out properly so your pay is not delayed

Walkthrough

1
The night before: open the assignment and read the first-day guide
Sidebar → My Schedule

Confirm the school address, the start time, the teacher and the room. Check whether a lesson plan is attached, and open "Your first-day guide" on the assignment for anything this school wants you to know — dress code, phone policy, and how dismissal works.

Take me there

2
The night before: plan your parking

Do not leave parking to the morning of. The first-day guide (and the arrival info on the job itself) tells you whether there is a substitute lot, whether the teacher lot is off-limits, or whether it is street parking only — check it the night before, not while you are circling the block.


3
Plan a fallback

If there is no lesson plan, have something ready. The lesson plan tool builds a grade-appropriate plan in a couple of minutes, and the activities library covers the gaps.

Take me there

4
Arrival: find the student entrance and the main office

Substitutes usually enter where students enter, not the staff/teacher entrance — security or the front desk is there to help if you are unsure. Sign in on the sub sign-in sheet at the main office, and be ready to say who you are covering for; the accepted job already shows the teacher's name.


5
Check in on the platform

Your check-in is what tells the school and our team that coverage is in place — it is also the record the day is paid from.

Take me there

6
Close the day out

Check out at the end of the day, leave a short note for the returning teacher about what was covered and anything they should know, and return keys and badge.

Worth knowing
  • Leave a note for the teacher every single time. It is the cheapest thing you can do to get requested again.
  • Keep the school office number in your phone before the morning you need it.
What goes wrong
  • Forgetting to check out. A day with no check-out has no record to pay from, so it waits until someone chases it.
  • Leaving without telling the office. Schools have to account for coverage.
Next: When you cannot make it
Related
AI lesson plan toolClassroom activitiesHow you get paid
Something here out of date or missing? Tell support — these guides are corrected from what people report.