SubClub

Schools need a backup team of caring adults who can step in when teachers need to be away from their classrooms. Today the design of that job doesn’t set anyone up for success. It’s one of the most under-loved, under-resourced, and under-designed parts of education. It’s also one of the most essential, without a strong backup plan schools struggle to keep the doors open and teachers burn out. While we can’t address all of the dynamics that make substitute teaching difficult, SubClubs addresses two of the most important: access to high-quality training and a sense of connection.

Substantial Classrooms is the nonprofit behind SubClubs. Substantial exists to unlock the potential of substitute teaching. Substantial started because our founder, Jill Vialet, kept finding herself in conversations with principals desperate for a better substitute teaching experience for their students. The challenges that principals described varied - unstaffed classrooms, unprepared substitute teachers, chaotic classrooms - but the hope was always the same. Schools need caring adults who know their students and can step in when a teacher needs to be away. We work to make that happen.

It’s a bit like a book club. You bring together a group of people who have a shared interest in substitute teaching, and a desire to learn more about it, in community with each other. Your club will get access to SubSchool, an online professional development (PD) platform designed just for subs, which will be your shared text (like the book you pick for a book club). As the facilitator, you’ll connect with a SubSchool coach who will give you some tips about facilitating, and a guide with activities aligned with SubSchool courses (like the book club questions in the back of a book). Talking about themes from SubSchool will be a jumping-off point for finding community, making meaning of your experiences in the classroom, and growing together. In your facilitator training, you’ll learn more about the available resources and how to structure your SubClub.