Dolores de Vera has a substitute teaching job today: supervising in-school suspension.
Thatโs about all she knows.
Kids might or might not show up. Sheโll likely write some tardy passes. Itโs the end of the school year, she pointed out, so who knows.
There are a lot of unknowns if youโre a full-time substitute teacher like de Vera.
Thatโs why de Vera started lobbying for TUSDโs substitute teachers, roughly 10 years ago. Sometimes it was as simple as speaking for three minutes at board meetings or emailing governing board members.
De Vera said she likes to think people โ including board members โ are listening, but sometimes sheโs not sure.
Recently, another unknown has surfaced, this time the bringing of Tucson Unified School District subs themselves โ becoming a recognized part of the Tucson Education Association bargaining unit.
โIt was only at the beginning of this year that we really kicked off the drive to make sure that (substitute teachers) could get recognized โ so that TEA can negotiate for us โฆ bargain for us,โ de Vera said.
De Vera and a number of fellow substitute teachers took to the podium during TUSDโs governing board meeting Tuesday night, making the case for TUSDโs substitute teachers to become part of union.
Jim Byrne, Tucson Education Association president and teacher at Cholla High School, was one of those speakers.
โThe role of substitutes to not only have โa warm bodyโ in the classroom, but many of them having experience coming out of the classroom themselves โฆ these are high-quality, valuable educators that maintain a much-needed stability and consistency in our classrooms, whether thatโs one period one day or an entire quarter.โ
At the core of de Veraโs motivation for her and her colleagues to become members of TEA is keeping the facts straight in a united front.
โDifferent subs have their different reasons. I think we all want to bargain โฆ have the same kind of protections other employees have.โ
Especially when it comes to the threat of pay cuts, de Vera added.
โWeโre not arguing that we need to be paid exactly what teachers are paid. Most of us are part time โ itโs not the primary source of income. Weโre not arguing to give part time people massive benefits or anything like that.โ
She said there have been misconceptions over the years about substitute teachers, including among TUSD administrators and governing board members.
โOne of the reasons we want to negotiate, rather than lobby, is you have the time to agree on verifiable facts,โ de Vera said. โYou may have different opinions and different priorities, but things like what other districts are paying, or the history of what your district has paid โฆ There shouldnโt be a dispute about those.โ
In the 2010s, substitute teachers for TUSD received pay cuts twice, de Vera recalled. When the Affordable Health Care Act was enacted, another layer of misconceptions arose, which was eventually resolved.
She estimated that fewer than one hundred of TUSDโs substitute teachers qualify for healthcare, sponsored by the district. About a dozen of them take up the offer.
Tucson Unified has 866 active, approved subs on its roster, district representatives told the Arizona Daily Star. The district averages 271 substitute teacher requests a day โ about 9.9% out of 2,728 classroom teaching positions requiring a substitute, they said.
During the school year it isnโt hard to find a job, de Vera said. Summer is a different animal, though, especially for full-time substitutes who depend on an undependable career to make a living.
โBecause Arizona pays its teachers so poorly, there is this underclass of people who are paid even more poorly than that, and thatโs the long-term substitute,โ de Vera said.
Tucson Unified School Districtโs substitute teachers make anywhere from $150 a day (classified subs) to $200 a day (long term substitutes), according to district officials.
There are summer school jobs available, along with a handful of other district-based options, but those are few and far between, de Vera said.
Some work Uber jobs, or other types of temporary work. Credit cards are another option, de Vera said, jokingly.
Some substitutes are part time and teach as a side hustle, others are aspiring teachers, โdipping their toe in the water,โ de Vera said.
In the meantime, substitute teachers have little to no bargaining power or due process. For example, disciplinary issues are somewhat arbitrary.
A substitute teacher can be fired for three complaints or less, de Vera said. While some firings are merited, she said, others are murky.
Sometimes a substitute draws a parentโs ire.
โPrincipals will try to please an angry parent. They please the parents by saying, Okay, weโre firing that sub. Weโre just not going to use that sub anymore,โ de Vera said. โThis happens not infrequently.
โIโm not going to dismiss someone, just because a kid said it, but a regular employee would have a right to an investigation.โ
So why sub? For de Vera, itโs because of a different set of unknowns. Since she started substitute teaching, de Vera has become a bit of a Renaissance woman by choice.
She said she marvels at the learning experiences available for students today, from career and technical education to the arts.
Ron Lancaster, a substitute teacher, told the TUSD governing board Tuesday night that the push to be an official part of TEA isnโt just about money.
โItโs about being valued and having a feeling that someone has your back when it is most needed,โ he said. โMany of us are retired from other professions and can bring much of those skills and maturity to the classroom. It is not just a job, but a continuation of a lifeโs journey.โ
De Veraโs next goal? Becoming more well-versed in teaching the littles, especially kindergarteners.
When interviewed Wednesday, de Vera wasnโt sure what to expect for her Thursday in-school suspension gig. Itโs been a while since she took on that role.
โI think people โ administrators, other employees โ nobody understands your job, really understands it, unless theyโve been in your shoes.โ
