Update: The school that asked me not to return is now “desperately” looking for a sub

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/SubstituteTeachers/comments/1qs6v7i/showed\_up\_for\_day\_3\_of\_a\_multiday\_sub\_assignment/

So here’s some irony.

A couple weeks ago I made a post here about a school that told me they prefer another sub and asked that I not return. It was my first time subbing, and it was at that school. I asked for some input here and moved on. No hard feelings.

Well, fast forward to yesterday morning.

My agency texted me at 7:40am asking if I could take a last-minute assignment at that exact same school. My guess was a teacher called out right before school was supposed to start due to an emergency or something. Who knows. The message said they “desperately need a sub” and even offered an extra $10 for gas since it's pretty far commute for me.

I declined for obvious reasons and explained the school had previously asked that I not return so there wouldn’t be any confusion. The manager thanked me for letting me know and said he’d talk to the school leader. I can’t help but think this kind of came back to bite them.

If you’re in a staffing shortage and you’re already scrambling last-minute, banning subs seems shortsighted. You never know when you’re going to be the one “desperately” needing coverage. Schools have the right to ban substitutes, but if they continue to cut subs they don't like left and right, they may eventually find themselves without enough people to fill those roles, or no one left to cover their classes.

Not posting this to be petty. Just one of those moments where the reality of the sub shortage really shows.