NEISD celebrates our substitutes

Substitutes teachers are a vital part of any educational system. At North East ISD, there are typically about 500 substitutes working daily in the District. We couldn’t accomplish our goals without them.

“We cannot have successful academic learning without successful social, emotional learning,” said Serna Elementary School principal, Jennifer Lomas. “When substitutes build a relationship with a school or several schools, students see them as a recognizable adult who cares for them as much as their teacher does.”

Jonathan Willis is a long-term substitute at Serna. That means he has answered the call for months -- months full of change and unknowns, thanks to COVID-19. He understands what the pandemic can do to a plan. He was finishing up student teaching last year when the pandemic hit. A full-time teaching job wasn’t available after that. And while it’s not the plan he envisioned this year, he fully understands his role in his students' lives and makes a big difference at Serna.

“Whenever a teacher leaves, it’s always going to be crazy,” said Willis. “But I think for a substitute to come in and take whatever the teacher leaves and just try and provide any kind of consistency for the kids, it really means a lot.  Because kids need some kind of consistency, a lot of kids don’t have consistency in their lives, so to at least provide that here at school. I think that is one of the most important things teachers do, and then substitutes can do while teachers are away.”

North East ISD is now accepting applications for substitute teachers with a minimum of 60 college credit hours. To apply, click here.