Background: Getting qualified substitute teachers to fill absences has been difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an emergency in substitute teaching.  From 2019 to present, fill rates dropped 25% to 37.5%.  Kanawha County, WV foresees needing to expand its substitute ranks by 33% just to keep pace with current system strain for fill rates.  The current situation is an emergency identified by the Education Preparation Taskforce of WV in need of new solutions to keep school districts afloat.

Problem: The current system of notifications is inadequate for substitute teachers and schools. Substitutes aren’t notified for a position opening with anything but a phone call that must be answered immediately, can’t go to voice mail, and require many manual keypad inputs in real-time. Schools can’t quickly notify substitutes in real-time when absences arise, especially in the case of short notice emergencies, and lack the ability to target where they need fills most. Only 17.7% of substitutes prefer receiving an automated phone call for notification of an opening leaving many phones ringing and classrooms empty.

Solution:  Notify substitute teachers of openings quickly and efficiently to increase fill rate and allow schools to prioritize fills. 78.6% of substitutes prefer receiving a text message to for notification of an opening. Sub Hero is the solution that fills this demand while empowering schools to prioritize which jobs are filled first.