It’s the little things you notice first: a door propped open when it’s usually closed, the usual mug missing from the desk and an announcement posted on Google Classroom. Unfamiliar handwriting sprawls across the whiteboard. The class is filled with more chatter than usual.

Behind every teacher’s absence at TPHS is a complex process, in which Ashley Bush, vice principal Rebecca Gallow’s assistant,  works with substitute teachers, assigning them depending on the day, period and class. 

“It can be hectic sometimes because we have some days where there are lots of subs needed, and there’s also some times where we have no coverage for a sub,” Bush said. “So, we kind of have to scramble and see where we have subs with prep periods, and it’s kind of like a big game of Tetris some days. But overall, I really enjoy the subs that we have, and they’re great.”

On a whiteboard in the administration building, Bush keeps track of all the substitute assignments, organizing dates and class periods in a table. Substitute teachers use an online system called SEMS to choose their shifts. The platform provides details about school and subject for each shift, allowing substitutes to “generally have control over the subjects that [they teach],” according to Shannon Hartley, a regular substitute teacher at TPHS and part-time teacher at Earl Warren.

“Ashley is super organized,” Hartley said. “She is very clear about what we need to do and how to do it, and provides us all the tools we need to be successful.”

Hartley, previously an elementary school teacher, is now a substitute teacher in the district.

“I definitely love to sub science, biology and chemistry,” Hartley said. “I really love doing AP Environmental Science and AP Biology. Those are very fun classes for me, but I also really enjoy the social science classes.”

According to Hartley, Maria Sathaliya, Ryan Haig and Marlene Dombrowski, they find the environment welcoming and pleasant in terms of scheduling, students, staff and the school’s approach to working with substitutes.

“I see a lot of return subs,” Bush said. “So I figure, from the fact that they’re coming back, that means they’re at least somewhat enjoying working here … it seems like a mutually desirable relationship.”

Haig, a substitute teacher in SDUHSD, appreciates TPHS and the district for being “very flexible with scheduling [which] makes for a great job to have while also finishing [his] masters.” 

Sathaliya, a regular substitute in the district, enjoys coming to the school for its community.

“I love TPHS because of its amazing staff and talented, fun students,” Sathaliya said. “I truly feel at home here.”

Sathaliya’s favorite subjects to substitute for are English and history because she enjoys the “‘class discussions and students’ creative thinking.”

Substitute teachers expressed that the school’s staff make their jobs enjoyable.

“TPHS teachers and staff are dedicated to the inclusive approach, so each and everyone feels welcome and accepted,” Sathaliya said.

Dombrowski, a retired professor who taught at Milwaukee Area Technical College for 37 years, now frequently substitutes at TPHS and agreed with Sathaliya’s sentiment.

“[Torrey Pines] is a great environment,” Dombrowski said. “It’s one of my favorite places to come to. What makes it so is mainly the administration and the teachers that make subbing more conducive.”

Substitute teachers appreciate it when teachers give them a detailed sub plan to follow.

“I like a well planned schedule, so that there’s something for me to give the students to keep them occupied, rather than just say, ‘Oh yay, it’s sub day, let’s have party time,’” Dombrowski said.

Haig agreed, noting that teachers at TPHS meet that standard.

“The teachers always leave great instructions and the students are not only very independent, but generally very hard-working,” Haig said.

However, it’s easy for students to slip into unruliness with a substitute teacher. The struggle of containing a class where many kids who are trying to test the limits of how much freedom their substitute is willing to give them is a common experience.

“I’m sure you’ve been in classes where it’s sub day and students don’t act the same way they do normally,” Dombrowski said. “So, I try and start that in the place where you respect your colleagues in the classroom, because some of you are here to learn, and some of you aren’t. So if you’re not here to learn, I prefer you just lay back.”

Sathaliya also faces challenges with difficult students due to her foreign accent.

“The worst days are pretty similar — it happens in classes that lack a healthy, supporting atmosphere,” Sathaliya said. “[Some] students treat me unwell. I face it because of my origin and accent. But I don’t take it personally, because it clearly comes from the students’ own traumas and challenges.”

For many students, it is also challenging for students because they feel unaccustomed to the way substitute teachers run the classroom, even more so if it is a long term sub.

“It was a sudden shift because they both had their own teaching styles,” Hailey Chang (10), who had a long term substitute for Robin Chen’s math class over maternity leave, said.

Still, many students appreciate the hard work of TPHS’ substitute teachers.

“I think many of [the subs] do a good job,” Chloe Cassidy (10) said.

Students may overlook the subs on campus, yet their roles are crucial to the school’s functioning through their every action: the determination to pronounce every student’s name right during attendance, the neatly written class agenda and a kind note left for the teacher about how enjoyable the class was.

“I find this job to be a great opportunity to meet the youth and see our community’s future,” Sathaliya said. “It is compelling and flattering. I use my chance to learn more about them as well as share my perspective and experience.”