Returning to Substitute Teaching

THE PAST IS WHERE YOU LEARNED THE LESSON. 

Middle school and high school students around here recognize me as the substitute teacher who raps at the end of good classes. I so wanted to return to this a month ago--to have a normal life instead of staying home with all the grief reminders here.

You see I missed the transitional meeting on June 27th when Kelly Services would accept all the sub teachers who have substituted with the county schools last school year. The 27th was the day before my late husband's memorial service and I just couldn't go.  I called Kelly Services and rebooked for August 6th and thought everything was then set. Then there have been a series of phone calls that had not gotten me anywhere. I practically memorize their phone message.

Kelly Services Now Handling Substitutes

"Thank you for calling Kelly Educational Services.  

Press one if you are a substitute employee and need to cancel and assignment. 

Press two if you are an administrator and need to cancel an assignment or modify an assignment. 

Press three if you need substitute payroll. 

Press four if you are interested in becoming a substitute. 

Press five if you have technical questions. 

Press zero if you have any other questions."

Nothing to press for a transitional sub. I usually called four, five and zero and people would get back to me hopefully--or not. Yes, each one learned that I was supposed to be at that meeting in June, but had had to cancel due to my husband's death.

DON'T GIVE UP IN THE MIDDLE.
School came and I wasn't substituting. Very unusual. Lots of phone calls again. Lots of bureaucracy. Had to have my finger prints taken on Sept. 2 for $95 and assumed that I would be on board that next week. Didn't happen.

Sept. 9 I got a "no-reply" email from Skillsoft Support called "Welcome to Kelly Learning Center" with detailed information to Carole Johnson (not my spelling) on how to take Kelly classes and set up my computer. I needed help for my Mac I thought. It turns out this did help me modify my Mac computer so I can get in to substitute, but I am transitional and did not need their Kelly training. A Charles emailed me Sept. 11 that within a day he would be back to answer my questions.

I have escalated your issue to the appropriate department 

to be handled via telephone. 

You can expect a follow-up within one business day. 

Oh, yes, I did (in my mind) have an escalated issue!!! It wasn't one business day because Joel called me earlier Sept. 16th and we talked about how I had gone to Kelly Services for substituting and did not need other training  and I thanked them that they had helped me make my Mac computer ready. 

Friday Sept. 12 two people from Kelly Services promised to call back and that Friday I had been given information on the location of Kelly Services in Tampa--had almost thought that Kelly Services was not in our area that they were in some high rise somewhere in the galaxy.

Actually Suite 117 in Tampa

Yesterday morning,  September 15th, by 11 am they hadn't called back.  So Monday, Sept. 15,  I gassed up the car and traveled the familiar I-4 route to the I-275 North and got off on the exit that would eventually bring me to Kelly Services after almost an hour. Walking in Suite 117 someone said I looked perplexed. (Well actually I had an  escalated issue!) A gentleman, possibly the boss I had talked to on Friday who recognized my name, said they would investigate. I stayed in the reception area--not invited back to a cubicle. I started taking pictures and explained to Melissa that I was going to blog about getting into substituting with Kelly Services. She said she hoped it would be good. It is!

Melissa

Name tag will last me until 3/18!

Someone came out and asked for my birthdate. Someone went to look for that picture that had been taken August 6th and no one could find it. Then Dareaus took another picture.

Finally a new name tag was brought to me and they said that I would receive a call within 48 hours that I could sign on in the computer to substitute teach.

To celebrate I rapped for Melissa and Dareaus who liked the raps and said they would look me up on YouTube. Thanks Melissa and Dareaus, Carol and others who helped!

I am not angry with Kelly Services and they have been polite to me as they tried to get this transitional sub back in the system.

During the month I thought I should rightfully be substitute teaching while I waited for answers from Kelly Services.   But the LORD had other plans for my time:

• Time with my grieving dog Ziggy.
• Time to adjust to widowhood and make the house my house instead of our house.
• Time to get out and about.
• Time to start coaching four women on caregiving by email.
• Time for a dental, vision and medical appointment.
• Time to apply to refinance the mortgage.
• Time for friends.
• Time to arrange for more YouTube videos of my raps.
• Time to do homework for the Grief and Share group I go to one night a week. 

THE FUTURE IS WHERE YOU APPLY THE LESSON.

What have I learned? There is life after caregiving and the death of a spouse. You just have to jump back in even if it isn't easy to jump back in. Sometimes you just have to go in person to an office to get the results you need and to cut through the bureaucracy. Sometimes you just have to have faith and believe that it will all work out, that money will come to you when you need it, that the LORD will provide.

Maggie called about 4:55 pm today to tell me I could put my pin in, set up my profile of the schools where I wish to teach. I did that. Within a half hour, I had been called for a school that I like.

SO HAPPY THAT I CAN SUBSTITUTE TOMORROW

AT A SCHOOL I LIKE AND THAT LIKES ME.