Teacher Portal

The Teacher Portal (part of the unified Member Portal) is where teachers access their schedule, browse lessons, prepare for classes, manage their availability, and handle substitute requests. This article covers everything teachers see and can do from their portal.

Accessing the Portal

Teachers access the portal by logging in to their TimelyChurch account. The portal is accessible at your church's dedicated URL (e.g., yourchurch.timelychurch.com/portal).

Teachers who also have admin access can switch between the admin interface and the portal. Older bookmarked links to the teacher dashboard redirect automatically to the unified portal, so teachers with old bookmarks will still land in the right place.

My Schedule

The My Schedule page is the teacher's primary view. It displays:

This Sunday Highlight

At the top of the page, the current or upcoming Sunday's assignment is prominently displayed, including:

• The class name.
• The assigned lesson (with a link to view lesson details and attachments).
• Quick access to lesson materials.

If no lesson has been assigned yet, a prompt to select one appears.

Full Schedule List

Below the Sunday highlight, the complete schedule is displayed grouped by month. Each schedule entry shows:

• Date of the class session.
• Class name.
• Lesson title (or "No lesson assigned").
• Current status (Scheduled, Confirmed, Needs Sub, Holiday, etc.).

Teachers can see all classes for groups where they are a leader, as well as any schedules where they are directly assigned as the teacher.

Booked Dates

The portal tracks which dates a teacher is already scheduled. This prevents double-booking and helps teachers know which days they are available to claim sub requests.

Browsing the Lesson Library

Teachers can browse the full lesson library from the portal:

1. Navigate to Lessons from the portal navigation.
2. All approved lessons are displayed in a paginated list.
3. Click any lesson to view its full details, including:
   • Description, objectives, and scripture references.
   • Attached files and links.
   • Supply requirements.
   • Series context (other lessons in the same series).

Teachers can only view approved lessons. Draft and archived lessons are not visible in the portal.

Selecting a Lesson for a Schedule

When a teacher is assigned to a schedule that has no lesson:

1. Navigate to My Schedule.
2. Find the schedule entry and click Select Lesson.
3. Browse or search the lesson library.
4. Click a lesson to assign it to the schedule.
5. The lesson is linked to the schedule and the teacher can view its materials.

Proposing a New Lesson

If a teacher wants to teach content that is not in the library:

1. From the schedule, click Propose Lesson.
2. Fill in:
   • Lesson Title -- The name of the proposed lesson.
   • Description -- What the lesson covers.
   • Scripture Reference -- The relevant Bible passage(s).
3. Submit the proposal.
4. The proposal status is set to "Pending."

An admin will review the proposal:

• Approved: The lesson is created in the library, assigned to the schedule, and the teacher is notified.
• Rejected: The teacher receives the rejection reason and can revise and resubmit.

Creating a Lesson Directly

If the church has enabled "Allow teachers to create lessons" in Lesson Settings:

1. From the schedule, click Create Lesson.
2. Fill in the full lesson form (title, description, scripture, objectives, supplies, etc.).
3. Submit the lesson.
4. If approval is required, the lesson starts as a Draft and must be approved by an admin.
5. Once approved, it is automatically assigned to the schedule.

Requesting a Substitute

When a teacher cannot make their scheduled class:

1. Go to My Schedule.
2. Find the upcoming schedule where you need coverage.
3. Click Request Sub.
4. Optionally provide a reason and set the urgency level (Low, Normal, or Urgent).
5. Submit the request.

The team is automatically notified. The teacher can see the status of their request on the schedule page.

For full details, see the Substitute Teacher Requests article.

Claiming a Substitute Request

Teachers can volunteer to cover for colleagues:

1. Go to My Schedule.
2. Open sub requests appear in a dedicated section.
3. Requests where you were personally invited appear in a highlighted "Invited" section.
4. Review the request details (class, date, lesson, urgency).
5. Click Claim to take over the assignment.
6. You are now assigned as the teacher for that date and class.

If the date conflicts with an existing assignment, the system shows which dates you are already booked.

Confirming or Declining Assignments

When an admin requests confirmation for a teaching assignment:

Confirming

• Click Confirm in the portal or via the email link.
• The schedule status updates to "Confirmed."
• No further reminders are sent.

Declining

• Click Decline in the portal or via the email link.
• Provide a reason for declining.
• The schedule automatically transitions to "Needs Substitute."
• The admin is notified of the decline.

Email-Based Response

Teachers can respond directly from the email notification without logging in. A secure token in the email link verifies the teacher's identity.

Viewing Lesson Details

When viewing a lesson assigned to a schedule, the teacher sees:

Lesson Content

• Full description with rich text formatting.
• Learning objectives.
• Scripture reference.
• Supplies needed.
• Suggested duration.
• Tags and category.

Attachments

• Uploaded files (PDFs, images, documents) available for download.
• External links to online resources.

Schedule Context

• Which class the lesson is assigned to.
• The date.
• The teacher's name.
• Any supply requests related to this schedule.
• Open sub requests or invitations.

Parent-Facing Content

If enabled in lesson settings:

• Member summary (what we learned today).
• Memory verse and reference.
• Home activity suggestion.
• Discussion questions for families.

Supply Requests

From the lesson detail view (when viewing in context of a schedule), teachers can see supply requests associated with their upcoming class. Supply request conversations are handled through the messaging system:

• Teachers can view and respond to supply requests.
• If a substitute takes over, conversations are automatically transferred to the new teacher.

Profile and Certifications

From the portal profile, teachers can manage:

Avatar

• Upload or change their profile photo.
• Remove their avatar.

Password

• Update their login password.

Certifications

Teachers can manage their certification records:

• Background Check
• CPR Certification
• First Aid
• Safe Sanctuary Training
• Child Protection Training
• Mandated Reporter Training
• Other (custom certifications)

Each certification includes:

• Issue date and expiration date.
• Verification status (pending, verified, rejected).
• Supporting document upload.

Expired or soon-to-expire certifications are flagged automatically.

Notification Preferences

Teachers can configure how they receive notifications (email, in-app, etc.).

Availability Management

Teachers can manage their unavailable dates:

1. Click Availability in the portal sidebar to open the Serving Availability page.
2. Mark dates when you are unavailable to serve.
3. Provide a reason for the unavailability (optional).
4. Add notes if needed.

Admins can see teacher availability when making schedule assignments, helping them avoid assigning a teacher on a date they have marked as unavailable.

Team Directory

Teachers can view other team members:

1. Click Team Directory in the portal sidebar.
2. Browse the list of teachers and staff.
3. Click on a team member to view their profile.

Notifications

The portal notification center shows:

• Teaching assignment notifications.
• Lesson-needed reminders.
• Sub request alerts (both broadcast and personal invitations).
• Lesson proposal approval or rejection notices.
• Confirmation request reminders.

Teachers can mark individual notifications as read or mark all as read at once.

Messages

The portal includes a messaging system where teachers can:

• View conversations with admins and other team members.
• Compose new messages.
• Respond to supply request conversations.
• View message edit history.

Quick Reference: What Teachers Can Do