Occasional Per Diem Teachers

Nov 21, 2001 3:29 PM

GETTING WORK

The work you do as an occasional per diem substitute is very important to students and faculty colleagues. But despite the key role you play, you might find the process of actually getting work to be complicated and often frustrating. Don’t despair. The UFT continues to work to simplify the process, and we’re here to help.

You’ll find the task of getting work as a per diem teacher easier if you take a little time to get organized before you begin your search. A bit of planning early on will save you headaches later on.

The most important advice we can give you is to not start work as an occasional per diem teacher until you have been officially nominated by a community school district or high school superintendent and the central Board of Education has both accepted your nomination and approved your application to teach.Sadly, some newcomers have eagerly gone into the classroom with the assurance of school or district officials that they would take care of the necessary paper work and processing - only to find out later that the board refused to pay them because it had not given its official seal of approval. Completing all of the necessary steps can take up to three months, so you’ll have to be patient. Having all your paperwork in order before you go to the board will speed the process.

As with every communication with the board, you should either deliver it in person or send it via overnight mail so you know it will arrive in the right office and won’t be lost in a mailroom. Be sure to put the exact address and room number on the correspondence and keep a copy for your records.

Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1. You can plan on making at least two trips to Board of Education headquarters at 65 Court St. in Brooklyn. In the first you should pick up an application kit that the board will give you in Room 102. Pay particular attention to two forms (these forms also are available at UFT borough offices):

• An Application for Pedagogical License or Certificate.
• A medical examination form that you will have your personal physician complete.

Step 2. Complete the forms and organize the required backup materials. You will need:

• Proof of a four-year college degree and/or a graduate degree.
• College transcripts - originals only! Since you will have to submit undergraduate and graduate transcripts several times during your career,it’s easiest to order five or six at once so you’ll have them on hand. If you are still doing graduate work, submit the most recent transcript.
• Proof of identity. That can be a passport (either current or expired) or two of the following: an original birth certificate, a Social Security cand or a photo ID such as a driver’s license.

Money orders to pay for fees because the board does not accept either cash or personal checks. These are the fees as of June 1998:

• $80 payable to the New York City Board of Education for fingerprinting.
• $15 payable to ORPAL (the board’s Office of Recruitment, Personnel Assessment and Licensing) for an application for an occasional per diem certificate.
• $15 payable to the New York City Board of Education for processing your medical exam form.

Step 3.   Do not go back to the Board of Education yet! Rather, you have to find a community school district or high school superintendent who is willing to hire you as an occasional per diem substitute. Perhaps the board’s Office of Staffing Services at 65 Court St. knows if work is available in your subject, or license, area (e.g., math, science,common branches and so on). For elementary and junior high schools,phone (718) 935-2910; for high schools, phone (718) 935-2900.

Usually, however, this is not enough. Be prepared to beat the bushes. Phone or visit district offices and individual schools to speak with the district personnel director or the principal. You can find the names, address and phone numbers of schools in the blue pages of your phone book.

Step 4.   Once you have a commitment from a district or high school for a job,you must be nominated, i.e., requested to fill a position by a district or high school superintendent. That official’s personnel manager will give you a nomination form - known as Form 950 - requesting your services.NOTE: Once you are nominated, you can work in any school in the city that seeks your services. You are not restricted to the district or super intendence that nominates you.

Step 5.   After you receive a nomination form, go back to the Board of Education’s Office of Educational Staff Recruitment at 65 Court St., Room 102. This is the time when you file your Application for Pedagogical License or Certificate, your backup materials and your Form 950, as well as hand over your $15 money order for the application fee.

Step 6.   Then go to the fourth floor, Room 406, for fingerprinting by the Office of Investigation and give them the $80 money order. You’ll have to wait eight to twelve weeks for fingerprint clearance from the state’s Department of Criminal Justice and the federal government before you can start work - unless you have found work and your superintendent writes that you are needed right away or for a hard-to-staff area. If you have an arrest record be sure to disclose it fully on your job application even if it’s a minor misdemeanor. Falsifying a job application is, in itself, a crime.Moreover, being caught lying could bar you from working for the school system.

Step 7.   If you have had your physician complete the medical exam form and have brought proof that you have passed a Mantoux tuberculosis test, go to the board’s Medical Division on the second floor to file them. It’s OK if you do not file these forms at this time, but you must file them before you start work. Don’t forget to bring the $15 postal money order for the medical.

Step 8.   When all of the paperwork has cleared, the board will issue you an occasional per diem certificate allowing you to teach as a day-to-day sub.It also will issue you a file number. Do not start work without it or you will not be paid.

Step 9.   Alert the school or district that nominated you - as well as any others where you’d like to teach - that you’re available.