When most people think of a substitute teacher, they think of a temporary fill-in for a job that is difficult to secure and difficult to do. They might think that a substitute is simply there to monitor a classroom or, worse yet, put on a video for the class and then sit at their desk.
I know substitutes are so much more.
The best substitutes are passionate mentors who play a role in student success. As a substitute teacher with 14 years of experience in public and private schools in Oakland, I believe my commitment to students and my experience outside of teaching enable me to be a valuable guide in the lives of the K-12 students I have the privilege of working with, and I want more school leaders to recognize that role.
Before I started teaching, I served in the Air Force, went to law school, became a paralegal, and launched my own clothing line. I bring every aspect of these experiences — the ups and the downs — with me to the classroom to provide a fresh perspective to students. When I substitute in math classes, I can talk about how interpreting numbers helps entrepreneurs understand their profit margin in the future. In language arts classes, I can talk about how persuasive arguments are the basis of a strong legal case. And, in all my classes, I’m always quick to discuss the importance of critical thinking, adaptability, and a strong work ethic, no matter where a student’s life will take them.
Each time I bring my personal experience into the classroom, I know I’m showing students more about the world around them and helping them connect what they’re learning to their future. It’s something so many mentors did for me. I was fortunate to be surrounded by caring adults when I was growing up. When I needed great life advice, I knew I could turn to them. Their support is part of the reason I started teaching. Sharing knowledge is contagious. When I share knowledge with a student or show them how to do something, then they have the knowledge I have and can share it with someone else.
Even though I know the value of sharing knowledge, students aren’t always ready to accept it. Especially from a substitute teacher. I have to earn their trust first. That means the role of a substitute is more than simply managing a classroom in the absence of a regular teacher. Students have to be able to trust that a substitute is emphatically inclined to believe in them and their purpose. I’ve found that starting with a joke, posing a tough question, or asking students to say one fun thing about themselves during introductions can break the ice and form a strong mentor-mentee relationship.
It is true that it can be difficult to navigate the paperwork needed to become a sub, but for me, it is important to take these steps to be a mentor to students because of the impact it can have on them. A survey found that 95% of teachers say mentorship benefits students, with a majority noting that supportive relationships boost academic outcomes and help students develop critical skills. It’s why great substitutes know teaching class is about more than just following the lesson plan. We actively listen to students, help them access knowledge, and encourage their curiosity — just as great permanent teachers do.
Consider becoming a substitute teacher in California schools despite any preconceptions you may harbor that the job is difficult or unrewarding. The job is sometimes difficult, but it is never unrewarding. Students need caring adults in their lives, especially in a world where young people face new heights of academic and social pressures. Passionate substitute teachers have the opportunity to make a difference. Leading school districts, where I’ve been fortunate to serve, already recognize the value of exceptional substitute teachers, and the process is easing a bit. There are groups out there that help navigate the paperwork or that make it easier to find and sign up for substitute positions.
I hope many more people will soon realize this transformative potential and embrace the positive influence we can bring to the lives of our students.
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Thelonious Brooks is a substitute teacher in Oakland.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Xavier Navarro, left, was a student ambassador while attending Santa Ana College. In this photo, he was tabling with his adviser, Hope Nguyen.
Over 50 community college students in California currently serve as resource guides for peers in need of stable housing, food access and other basic needs.
The students are part of the California Community Colleges’ Student Ambassador Program, which trains students to share information on available resources, including CalFresh and housing stipends with their fellow students. The program uses peers to share such resources in an effort to reduce the stigma around accessing basic needs services.
“They’re students on the campus, on the ground floor, knowing what students need, knowing how their campus operates, what works, what doesn’t,” said Yuriko Curiel, an ambassador program specialist.
The need is acute. According to a recent report by The Community College League of California and the RP Group, only 32% of the 66,741 students who responded to their survey felt secure in meeting all their basic needs. Over half of respondents were concerned about running out of food; 3 out of 5 students experienced housing insecurity, and 1 in 4 reported experiencing homelessness.
Anecdotes from two recent student ambassadors, Adela Gonzales and Xavier Navarro, highlighted the program’s impact.
Gonzales said in a recent interview that she spoke with a student who was on his way to a Riverside City College parking structure where other students had died by suicide. The student told her that he was heading there because he was contemplating doing the same. But on that day, he came across Gonzales, who was handing out pamphlets regarding various student services, including mental health support.
Adela Gonzales was a student ambassador for two years at Riverside City College.
“I was able to talk with him … give him a little bit of validation, and then walk him to the Student Health and Psychological Center,” said Gonzales, who is studying biochemistry and sociology. “I still message him here and there to see how he’s doing.”
She said what most stood out in her work as an ambassador was how only a few students were aware of the campus’ psychology center or their crisis text hotline. Her interest in supporting other students prompted her to join the program two school years in a row.
At Santa Ana College, Navarro was working at the campus food pantry when he met a fellow student veteran, named Louie, who didn’t have a home.
Meeting Navarro, who was a student ambassador at the time, led to Louie being quickly connected to resources, including a housing voucher to book a hotel room for about a month, food assistance via CalFresh, a free bus pass, and a job at the same food pantry where he met Navarro.
“He was hurting, and it hurts you as a person because you want to help … and now that you have the tools, why not?” said Navarro, who is now an accounting student at Cal Poly Pomona University in Southern California.
It was Navarro’s own experience as a veteran that helped facilitate the initial conversation with Louie.
“We care about the students, we want the students to succeed,” Navarro said. “Because college is hard, it’s expensive, and it can be challenging. Not having a home, not having food. … Caring goes a long way, especially for a college student.”
Students’ identities are crucial in connecting with their peers, said Curiel, the program specialist who was an ambassador before she graduated from San Bernardino Valley College.
Yuriko Curiel was a student ambassador and now works as a specialist for the programCourtesy of Yuriko Curiel
“Not only are they connecting with peers, they’re connecting with people who reflect their own community,” she said, noting that Navarro is a veteran; Gonzales, a former foster youth; Curiel was balancing work and school as a single mom during her time as an ambassador.
Ambassadors also often understand being food or housing insecure. Gonzales and Navarro, for example, both relied on CalFresh in the past. Gonzales also received a housing grant while enrolled in college because she couldn’t afford her rent after a roommate moved out of their shared apartment.
Gonzales and Navarro said that a common response they got from students was disbelief that they might qualify for CalFresh, the state’s food assistance program. Complex eligibility rules for students is a known barrier to the program.
“Not everybody on campus knows what’s available to them and how they can access, and even when they access that, there are still questions,” Gonzales said. “Being able to point them in the right direction and get the right information for them is very important.”
The ambassador program was launched in 2016. Students who join are expected to put in at least six to eight hours each month, for which they receive a stipend of $1,500 after completing the program.
The first cohort in 2016 included 20 students, while the current group includes 53 students. Previous groups have included over 100 ambassadors, according to Sarah London, external and executive communications director with the Foundation for California Community Colleges, which operates the program.
“The fluctuation in numbers is solely based on available funding,” said London. “Ideally, we’d have hundreds of ambassadors every year, so we strive to bring on more philanthropic funders to support and help us grow these efforts in the future.”
While student support services vary at the state’s 116 community colleges, some examples include CalFresh application assistance, low-cost auto insurance, a mental health crisis text hotline, and emergency financial aid grants, among others.
Students interested in joining the program must apply for a position and meet eligibility requirements, which include being at least 18 years old, enrolled in at least one unit for the fall and spring semesters during the school year in which they’re applying, and availability to attend a Zoom training.
Gonzales, Navarro and Curiel were all encouraged to apply for the program by staff members managing student organizations they had joined.
For example, Gonzales was part of Guardian Scholars, a chapter-based organization on college campuses that helps support former foster and homeless youth, before learning about the ambassadors program. A staff member with the group noticed that Gonzales often took the initiative by sharing basic needs information with her peers and suggested she apply to be an ambassador.
“I’ve always enjoyed providing resources for all my foster sisters,” she said, adding that joining the ambassador program felt like an extension of what she was already inclined to do in her personal life.
Student ambassadors use a variety of strategies to reach their peers, such as tabling during campus events, creating social media posts, sending out mass emails about available resources, and presenting to their classmates during class breaks.
“This is really investing in our next generation of leaders,” Curiel said. “I see our dean of student services coming out of this, our basic needs coordinators, or people doing public policy; I think that’s just the power of the program.”
Tucked inside Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed state budget is a kernel of hope for the future of adolescents in California: A $15 million investment to reshape the way students experience middle and high schools. It represents just .013% of total state education spending, but it represents an important commitment to serving students better.
This investment will create a small cadre of middle and high schools to support students’ sense of belonging, to help prepare them for well-paying jobs in the future, and to personalize learning environments and supports so that those who need extra help can get it. Participating schools will also integrate more hands-on, experiential learning and lead the way in new and appropriate uses of technology for deeper learning. These are the learning opportunities and environments that young people are asking us to provide.
What might these schools encompass, and how would we approach this work?
The San Diego County Office of Education works with districts, students, families and communities to address system- and community-wide issues and goals. We work with interested districts to build a portrait of a graduate, where leaders listen to students, parents, community members, and school and district staff to co-create a district plan built on the collective answer to: “Where do we want our student to be in 15 to 20 years when they graduate and what attributes and skill sets do they need to possess?” Through this process, we seek to create and strengthen our schools to be welcoming spaces for all students, with opportunities to be successful in school and life.
The Secondary School Redesign Pilot Program (SSRP) is especially timely now, as California continues to chart a course toward improved outcomes and experiences for adolescents in our public schools. This state-level persistence in forward-looking policy is critically important amid federal-level backsteps and disinvestment in young people.
Working as an SSRP network to learn and grow together, a group of secondary schools would be selected to receive state grants to support the reshaping of schools as places where all students feel known, understood and engaged in future-relevant learning. The two-year pilot would be evaluated, as all new programs should be, to identify redesign strategies for schools statewide and determine whether the effort should grow.
The program smartly builds upon recent, substantial investments in secondary schools by the governor and Legislature. These include new “community school” models that serve not just students’ academic but their health and social-emotional needs; dual-enrollment opportunities that allow high schoolers to experience and accelerate toward college; and the Golden State Pathways Program, which puts students on paths toward college and high-wage careers in economic growth sectors such as technology, health care, education and climate science/adaptation.
At a time of sharp ideological divides, we have been encouraged to see strong, across-the-board support among California voters for the importance of college and career education, social-emotional learning, student mental health and school environments where all students feel accepted. Public opinion research conducted by a bipartisan polling group earlier this school year bears this out.
As we prepare to celebrate our many high school graduates during this season of commencement, we remain focused on our most critical work ahead: to ensure that our public schools function effectively for all, especially those students who are furthest from opportunity and for whom our schools have not yet succeeded.
California has taken strong steps toward improving school experiences and outcomes for adolescents, particularly in this post-pandemic period when they are truly in need. The SSRP is another stride in that direction. To stay the course on preparing our young people for the future they deserve, we urge the Legislature to act favorably on the governor’s proposal.
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Gloria E. Ciriza, Ed.D., the San Diego County superintendent of schools.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Bob Nelson, outgoing superintendent of Fresno Unified School District
Credit: Fresno Unified / Flickr
In almost seven years of superintendency, Bob Nelson focused on “grow-our-own” initiatives that include 18 teacher pipeline programs for Fresno Unified students, aspiring teachers and current educators.
Seventy-nine percent of new teachers joining Fresno Unified come through one of the district’s teacher pipeline programs, but there is no “similar thing on the leadership side,” said Nelson, the district’s outgoing superintendent. There’s no pipeline program to recruit, retain or support educators or school leaders hoping to become district administrators.
In summer 2023, a cohort of 19 district leaders, most of whom are people of color, graduated from the doctoral program at San Diego State — a result of collaboration between the university and school district which has ignited Nelson’s vision to develop a “grow-our-own” administrator program in the Fresno and broader Central San Joaquin Valley area.
Nelson says that the cohort of administrators graduating from San Diego State is one of the highlights of his superintendency as well as the reason for leaving Fresno Unified for a tenure-track position at California State University, Fresno.
Fresno Unified’s outgoing Superintendent Bob Nelson and interim Superintendent Misty Her Credit: Fresno Unified / Flickr
Fresno State offers a doctoral program in educational leadership, but Nelson wants to strengthen it to draw more Fresno and Central Valley leaders into a Fresno-centered program that can develop administrators for the region.
“I feel it’s my responsibility to go and try and build a cadre of leaders here locally that can come and lead Valley schools,” Nelson said in a sit-down with EdSource in May.
On May 3, the Fresno Unified school board appointed Misty Her, the district’s deputy superintendent, to lead the district on an interim basis while a national search for a permanent replacement is conducted. Her started the interim superintendency on May 8 with Nelson moving into an advisory role until his last day on July 31.
Ahead of his last day, Nelson talked about his seven-year tenure as the leader of the state’s third-largest district and the importance of the new role he’s about to embark on.
Why leave now?
“I’m leaving because I feel really comfortable leaving the district in the hands of my deputy (Her). (I’m) stepping aside so that the first woman in 151 years can come and lead the district,” Nelson said. “It’s time. Leaving on my own volition feels good; I mean, that’s powerful.”
‘Pinnacle of my career’
“Serving as the superintendent in the district where I initially taught elementary school and first served as a leader has been the pinnacle of my career thus far,” he said in his Jan. 22 resignation announcement.
Prior to his appointment as superintendent, Nelson had served the district for over 23 years, holding various positions, including teacher, vice principal, principal, human resources administrator and chief of staff, according to the school district.
What is greatest accomplishment as superintendent?
Nelson said he is most proud of the “visible changes” across the district, including career technical education (CTE), a guaranteed college admissions program, an increase in district-sponsored scholarships, more diverse staff and the pace of student growth.
CTE pathways
“When I came into the district, people were running for the board on a platform that there were no college/career options for kids,” he said. “I think that’s changed demonstrably.”
The changes, he said, include: the heavy truck and diesel maintenance facility and the pharmacology school at Duncan Polytechnical High School, opening the sports medicine complex and setting up an agriculture pathway at Sunnyside High School, and buying land at Chandler Air Force Base to train private pilots and to teach people to fix planes, making the public service pathway — police, fire, EMT — out of Roosevelt High School.
Other accomplishments Nelson mentioned include: offering heating, ventilation and air conditioning certifications at Fresno High School; building teacher pipelines at Hoover and five other high schools, opening a law pathway at Bullard High School, and expanding social justice at Edison High School.
“Kids have access to more than they’ve ever had over the course of seven and a half years,” he said.
Bulldog Bound
Nelson developed a partnership with Fresno State to offer Bulldog Bound Guaranteed Admissions, which provides students college and career prep throughout their entire high school career as well as a guarantee that, once they graduate, they’ll have a spot at Fresno State.
“I was on the front end of authoring the Bulldog Bound initiative in collaboration with Fresno State, making sure every single one of our kids has guaranteed enrollment,” he said.
A foundation
During Nelson’s tenure, Fresno Unified also established the Foundation for Fresno Unified Schools, which now has a $20 million endowment that funds up to $800,000 in scholarships annually — “which is more than we’ve ever given away,” he said.
Diversity
Nelson recalls that in 2017, only two of district’s nearly 100 schools were led by Black principals — although African American students made up at least 8% of the student population. That’s no longer true. Now with over 10 Black principals, school leadership is a more accurate representation of the student enrollment.
Nelson’s senior leadership team is much more diverse, he said, pointing out a rise in Hmong and Latino leaders as well.
“It’s true diversity,” Nelson said. “Every single year of my tenure, and actually several before I got in, the staffing is more reflective of the students that we serve. In every respect — teaching staff, leadership staff, professional staff, including classified personnel — it’s all more indicative of the students that we serve.”
Based on 2022-23 state data, more than 92% of Fresno Unified students are minorities.
“Kids need to see visual images of people who look like them, talk like them, sound like them, have their lived experience,” Nelson said.
A faster pace
Nelson said he is thankful for student academic growth, which outpaces the state’s.
Based on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, or CAASPP tests, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards statewide improved by 6.87% in English and 6.07% in math from 2015 to 2019.
While Fresno Unified is still below state percentages in students meeting standards, from 2015 to 2019, the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards outpaced the state’s improvement — by 11% in English and 11.85% in math.
“If you only look at the bar of proficiency, we’re always behind,” Nelson said. “But we’re always gaining distance from standard at a rate that’s faster than other people across the state.”
Because of the pandemic, students statewide, including those in Fresno Unified, experienced learning loss that dropped test scores.
Fresno Unified scores increased by 0.96% and 2.49% in English and math, respectively, meaning students are again improving at a faster rate, as they were before the pandemic.
“The same thing (a faster pace of growth) is happening right now with chronic absenteeism (when students miss 10% or more days in one school year),” Nelson said. “Like we’re closing chronic absenteeism at a rate that’s faster than anybody.”
From the 2021-22 school year to the 2022-23 school year, Fresno Unified reduced chronic absences by 14.9% in contrast to the state’s 5% reduction.
“I’m really proud of that,” Nelson said.
Were all his goals met for the district?
“Our kids have needs that are greater (because they) come from abject poverty; you start from a different starting line,” Nelson said.
According to 2023-24 district data, 88% of students are living in disadvantaged circumstances.
“So, the level of systemic change that is needed to help kids thrive is just a higher, deeper, more robust level of change,” he said. “Did I crack that nut in its entirety? No. There’s always room for improvement.”
What does Misty Her inherit?
Fresno Unified’s outgoing superintendent, Bob Nelson, during his tenure, launched a literacy initiative aimed at getting every child to read by first grade.Credit: Fresno Unified / Flickr
“What I am leaving, hanging over, is I launched this literacy initiative, wanting every child to read by first grade,” Nelson said.
In late May, the school district finalized the Every Child Is a Reader literacy plan, a comprehensive five-year plan to achieve first-grade reading proficiency for students, according to a media release.
“The actual digging in and observing the curriculum around that initiative is going to be left for my successor. That is something that’s being held over (for Misty Her),” Nelson said.“I think she is a stronger academic leader and will help move the literacy work in ways that I have not. (As an early learning teacher), she knows very clearly what it takes for kids to read, understands all the complexities of the science of reading — is it phonemics or is it whole language —and balancing those approaches to make sure that kids have what they need.”
How does superintendent experience help at Fresno State?
Nelson will join the educational leadership division at the Kremen School of Education and Human Development. Although he’s leaving K-12 education as a leader, he’ll take his experience and knowledge into the role at Fresno State, which, this year, accepted 2,150 Fresno Unified students — the highest number ever accepted.
If all the accepted students were to attend, Fresno Unified graduates would make up around 20% of the university’s enrollment, based on Fresno State enrollment data that shows over 2,800 FUSD alumni.
“Higher ed needs to better understand what’s going on in Fresno Unified,” Nelson said. “Understanding who we are and what we represent and what we’re trying to do, I think, is critical.”
In applying for the role at Fresno State, Nelson had to teach a lesson, in which he demonstrated his ability to bridge the gap between Fresno Unified and Fresno State, he said.
“I compared their mission, vision, core values and statement of purpose against the lived experiences of the district that they serve (Fresno Unified) and said, ‘If you’re going to say these things, then that has to mirror the lived experiences of the districts that you’re in,’” he said. “’I think I can help you get from here to here. I can bridge that gap.’”
Nelson’s responsibilities at Fresno State?
A tenure-track position will give Nelson the opportunity to continue serving Valley educators.
“I have master’s degree students who are probably teachers, working full time every day, that want to become vice principals and principals and then, potentially, district leaders and on and on … and then helping master’s students get their master’s projects completed too,” he said of the position.
Why back to the classroom?
Before becoming superintendent of Fresno Unified, Nelson taught at Fresno State and “loved every minute of it.”
“I’m really, really excited to just go back to teaching,” he said. “Almost every school counselor that we brought in our system (Fresno Unified) were my former students from Fresno State. You find the best leader, siphon them out and then try to get them into the places in the Valley where they can serve kids.”
What about the goal of a local ‘grow-our-own’ administrator program?
In 2021, Fresno Unified won an $8.2 million grant from the Wallace Foundation to develop and support a pipeline of equity-centered leaders with which the district developed a collaborative relationship with San Diego State. This led to the district’s first cohort of leaders matriculating through the doctorate program. The partnership allows Fresno Unified leaders and faculty — who model what the graduate students are looking to become — to teach the courses in Fresno.
Many of the district leaders who obtained their doctorate from San Diego State in 2023 are now teaching the new cohort of Fresno Unified administrators coming up behind them at San Diego State.
“San Diego State has a really robust infrastructure to take leaders and help them kind of go to the next level,” Nelson said. “Most of what San Diego State is doing is they’re taking existing leaders and getting them their doctorate, and those leaders are ending up in district positions. I’m not sure Fresno State is there yet.”
Nelson’s goal: grow and develop administrators through Fresno State in a way similar to the partnership at San Diego State.
Prior to 2018, Fresno State allowed Fresno Unified leaders and instructors to teach graduate-level courses to prospective leaders, according to Nelson. Now only Fresno State faculty can teach the courses.
“The tenure-track faculty members at Fresno State — the vast majority of them have an emphasis on higher ed, so perpetuating other collegiate leaders,” Nelson said.
“Meanwhile, there’re 150 districts that are all clamoring to find leaders.”
A local program geared toward leadership of K-12 schools and districts is also important to create a collaborative space for them, Nelson said.
“There’s people that I deeply respect in the Valley who also sit in the superintendency,” Nelson said. “I think of Todd Lile in Madera. I think of Yolanda (Valdez in Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified). And there’s no space for us to be together to jointly plan or even talk or collaborate because we’re in three different counties.”
That’s a problem, he said.
“There needs to be a structure by which people who are on the same journey in the same region can collaborate with one another,” he said. “I think Fresno State is uniquely positioned to be able to bring those leaders together. … If you’re in a cohort of people who are on the same journey and have the same goals and you’re trying to strive together, (such as) in your doctoral program, it matters.”
His goal to strengthen the program at Fresno State doesn’t quite fit into his role as professor, but he wants to build and support an effort to reach that goal.
“Fresno State has what’s called the Welty Center for Educational Leadership, and they organized that with the intent of doing exactly this work as a collaborative space for leaders across the Valley,” Nelson said. “(I’m) trying to use that Welty Center as a jumping off place to just provide support for leaders across all of the 150 districts that feed into Fresno State.
“There’s just a high degree of need, and the focus cannot be solely on higher ed. It has to focus on the K-12 experience.”
“I am not going to cop to that. I think that (narrative is) what I’m out to fix,” Nelson said. “I actually think leadership is not only critical, it is a wonderful blessing, and I need people to understand that. We have to change the counterculture narrative that leadership is not possible or not sustainable or a dead-end thing.
“Finding superintendents who actually want to serve is harder than it’s ever been, and there’s a lot of reasons why that’s a factor, but we have to actually push back against that.”
