Requesting a Substitute Teacher

If you are unable to teach on a scheduled date, the Team Portal makes it easy to request a substitute. Your request will be shared with other team members, and anyone available can claim the assignment.

How to Request a Substitute

1. Go to My Schedule in the sidebar.
2. Find the upcoming assignment you need covered.
3. Below the assignment details, you will see a Request Sub section (visible only for your own future assignments that do not already have a sub request open).
4. Optionally enter a reason for the request (for example, "Out of town" or "Family event").
5. Select the urgency level if available.
6. Click Request Substitute.

Once submitted:

• Your schedule entry will be updated to show a "Needs sub" status.
• All team members will be notified about the open sub request.
• The request will appear on other teachers' dashboards and schedule pages.

Important: You can only request a substitute for your own future teaching assignments. Past dates and assignments belonging to other teachers cannot be modified.

What Happens After You Submit

How Other Teachers See Your Request

Your sub request appears in two places for other team members:

1. Dashboard -- The Sub Requests card on the dashboard shows open requests.
2. My Schedule page -- A highlighted "Substitute Teachers Needed!" banner appears at the top of the schedule page, listing all open requests with an I'll Help button.

Personal Invitations

A general sub request is visible to your whole team, but in some cases your church administrator can also send a personal invitation to specific teachers asking them to fill the slot. Personal invitations are triggered by an admin from the Need Attention dashboard (in the admin portal, not the team portal) -- volunteers and team leaders cannot send personal invitations themselves.

When a teacher is personally invited:

• They see a blue "You've Been Personally Invited!" banner at the top of their schedule page, even if the general sub request is still open to the rest of the team.
• The banner shows the date, class, and who originally requested the sub.
• They can click Accept to claim the assignment or Decline to pass without affecting future invitations.

If no personally invited teacher accepts, the request remains open for any other teacher to claim through the regular I'll Help flow.

When Someone Claims Your Sub Request

When another teacher claims your sub request:

• The sub request is marked as Fulfilled.
• The schedule is updated with the new teacher's name.
• The schedule status changes back to Confirmed.
• You will receive a notification that your sub has been covered.

Claiming a Sub Request from Another Teacher

If you see an open sub request and want to help:

1. Go to My Schedule in the sidebar.
2. Look for the amber "Substitute Teachers Needed!" banner at the top of the page.
3. Review the available requests, which show the date, class name, and who needs a sub.
4. If you are already teaching on that date, you will see an "Already Teaching" label instead of the claim button.
5. Click I'll Help to claim the assignment.
6. You will be assigned as the teacher for that class on that date.

Tip: If you are personally invited to fill a sub request, you will see a blue "You've Been Personally Invited!" banner. You can click Accept to claim it or Decline to pass.

Declining a Sub Request

If you receive a personal invitation to substitute but are not available:

1. Click Decline next to the invitation.
2. The request remains open for other teachers to claim.
3. Declining does not affect your standing or future assignments in any way.

Checking Sub Request Status

You can monitor the status of your sub requests from the My Schedule page:

• Needs sub -- Your request is still open and no one has claimed it yet.
• Confirmed -- Another teacher has claimed the assignment and your sub is covered.

Best Practices

• Submit requests early. The sooner you request a substitute, the more likely it is that someone can step in.
• Provide a reason. While optional, a brief reason helps coordinators understand the situation.
• Check the schedule first. Before requesting a sub, check if you might be able to swap dates with another teacher instead.
• Keep your availability up to date. Setting your availability proactively helps administrators avoid scheduling you on dates when you are not available, reducing the need for sub requests.