Help me make more money as a retired substitute teacher! (Cleveland)

September 12, 2013 5:42 AM

I am a recently retired elementary school teacher living in a suburb of Cleveland. I have again caught the teaching bug and am doing substitute teaching at schools near my home almost every weekday using a program my son found for me online (aesop Jobulator). I love the work, but the pay is just $80-85/day: Decent, but not what I want to be making with my experience and degrees. I would like to make a bit - or a lot! - more so I can save up some money, travel to Japan and visit my son next year.

Thank god for Jobulator - I would probably just be sitting around the house playing Words-with-friends if my son didn't find that for me - I do love my Words-with-friends! I hold a Masters Degree and have over 30 years of experience teaching elementary (the kids love me!). I have done a lot of work with special needs/behaviorally challenged students as well.

A few caveats -

1: No middle or high school-age students, it's just not for me.

Oh, I guess that was the only caveat. Are there any similar programs with better pay - perhaps tutoring or teaching privately? Are there any other options that I'm missing? Any ideas are welcome. Would love to hear some advice and soak my brain in your collective wisdom.

posted by BuddyBoo to Work & Money (6 answers total)

Private learning centers are a good start, they certainly pay more per hour, you might look into Sylvan, Kumon, or other 'cram schools' in your area.

The sad fact of the matter is that for substitute teaching, your credentials don't matter. What they need is a warm body to make sure the kids don't swing from the light fixtures. So doing this work will likely not yield a huge windfall. It will get you out of the house and some pocket money, but that's about it.

You might formulate and market a program, art or music or a special reading/storytime, that you can sell to a private school. But that would probably be more for love than money.

Some folks earn extra dough as standardized test evaluators. ETS and Pearson offer this. So might your state educational board, call and see if any parts of the OAA are manually graded.

I know you said that high school kids are a drag (I taught 'em, I agree) but there's a part-time gig with AIFS recruiting placements for foreign exchange students.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:02 AM on September 12, 2013

Have you called the human resources departments of local school districts? There may be contract or other opportunities available. Or not, but calling can't hurt.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:09 AM on September 12, 2013

I'm surprised they pay that little for subs. Even here in Georgia they pay way more for experienced certified teachers. Long-term subbing may also pay better. Pick a few elementary schools within an easy drive and contact them. There are always teachers taking a few months off for maternity or other leave and schools love people like you who can take over for a while. Avoid the private contractors and go directly to the district/school offices.
posted by mareli at 6:58 AM on September 12, 2013

Do any schools around you offer afterschool programs that would be up your alley?
Private afternoon babysitting-slash-tutoring might be something people would be happy to pay for.
As others above suggested, calling local schools and particularly stressing your experience with special needs students is a good idea (I'm assuming it might be harder to find substitute teachers for special needs classes).
Something a little different: if there are community colleges or teaching colleges nearby, it might be possible to teach an education class there.
posted by trig at 7:39 AM on September 12, 2013

Some schools have sub-pools, so if you aren't concerned with double-dipping that might be a way to go.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:42 AM on September 12, 2013

I would call a few of the local districts and let them know you're available as a long-term sub, should they have a need at one of their elementary schools. This often comes up right at the beginning of the school year when a teacher quits and it's too late to hire someone new.
posted by jrichards at 11:50 AM on September 12, 2013