How to Become a Substitute Teacher in Nevada

There are not a lot of job openings for new teachers right now in Nevada, especially in the Las Vegas area. If recent graduates are anxious to start, substituting is a great way to get your feet wet in the district and get to know some schools before you settle on just one. If you don't have a degree, you need at least 62 college credits, with six credits in approved educational courses. Substitutes are very busy in the Clark County School District. If you begin to substitute a lot for the same school, and they see you as reliable, you could become a permanent substitute like I did. That means they will give you any vacancy or long-term assignments for you they can, with some lasting the entire school year for qualified candidates. At worst, the office will call on you to fill the day-to-day assignments teachers hand their way.

The process to become a substitute is lengthy, but it’s easy to do. Waiting is the hardest part. The first thing you do is submit an interest form at http://www.ccsd.net/jobs/subs/?p=teacherapp

This is the page you go to for the interest form, the application, and to check application status. After the interest form is reviewed (usually within just a few days), you will be emailed a password and able to access the online application form on the same website. In that application, it is very important that you submit three reliable references. They will be faxed or emailed a reference check. Only once that is complete can you go online and make an interview appointment. Once you have submitted the application, print a copy and bring it with you to your interview, along with your original, sealed transcripts. The interview with substitute services will probably be a few weeks after your reference check is approved. After you submit your application, you can review your status at any time by logging in with your username and the password the district sent you.

Once interviewed, you are mailed a mountain of paper work to complete; mine arrived about a month after my interview. The paperwork included the steps I needed for TB testing, ID badge, fingerprints, training, and licensing. TB testing and the photo badge is done right there with substitute services at the Edward A. Greer Education Center in Las Vegas, and you pay the 60 dollars for your fingerprints there too. The training program is online, costs $15, and takes about ten hours.

You take your receipt and take it to the fingerprinting center at Police Services behind the education center. Lastly, you have to apply for a Nevada Substitute License. That is done at the Nevada Department of Education at 9890 S. Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89123. A license costs $161, and you have to give them official, sealed transcripts. Don’t lose the receipt! It serves as a temporary license for 90 days while you wait for your real one to arrive via postal mail. Take it to substitute services ASAP.

Now you have to wait. The background check and fingerprints take some time, so don’t plan to hear back right away. You’ll know everything is fine when you get an email about attending orientation.

Bottom line? I applied in February and I was able to start working at the beginning of the school year. It probably would have went faster if not for that dreaded summer break.

So, you might ask, is it worth all this trouble? Will I stay busy enough?

Absolutely!

Before I was a permanent substitute, I would get calls every morning, starting at 5:30. On a typical Friday, you could get five calls before jobs were filled (sometimes more during busy months). It has happened to me. When you start to get comfortable at a certain school, you will probably have jobs lining up for you.

What’s the pay?

It varies on the length and location of assignment. It starts at $90 a day and tops out at $120 a day. The further North Las Vegas you go, the higher your pay. Vacancy assignments get paid the most, but they are difficult to get unless a school is comfortable with you.

The most important thing?

Kids will spend the equivalent of one school year of their academic lives with a substitute. We should make it a very productive day for them and not sit back, willing to just "baby-sit." Be the teacher when their permanent teachers can't.