Flexible, Can be stressful, low pay - Substitute Teacher ESS Employee Review

local manager Nicole Michalczyk is fantastic to work with. The ESS org overall is well run with great tech tools to accept or decline assingnments easily. Nicole also is great at sending reminders regarding benefits available to employees and also offers lots of 'spiffs' to engage staff. Working in the city of Nashua public school system has been fantastic and eye opening. Teachers and Admin staff overall great and I've worked in may of the schools!

The ONLY con is that school budgets to pay subs is pretty low, but understandable considering budgets across the nation for public schools are tight! There is a funding problem for schools in general across the NH and the nation - this is not an ESS issue.

The corporate support and recruitment team are excellent; they are professional and highly responsive. The onboarding and training process was comprehensive and genuinely prepared me for the realities of substitute teaching. The role offers a great deal of flexibility, opportunities to engage with the local population, and a clear pipeline for those seeking long-term subbing positions or a path toward a full-time teaching career. It is an excellent environment for networking within the education sector.

The day-to-day experience is heavily dependent on the specific district and school culture, which can vary significantly. Some districts provide free lunch, others don’t. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of respect at the school level; substitute staff are sometimes treated as expendable rather than as valued members of the team. There is a lack of job security, as pre-booked assignments are frequently canceled on short notice to accommodate other preferred substitutes. Subs have to work 4 days a month and it’s hard to meet when people are constantly being dropped from jobs. Additionally, the compensation is extremely low, and the benefits package is insufficient, making it difficult to rely on this position as a primary source of income.