Substitute 911

We started Substitute 911 because we wanted to help decrease stress levels for teachers and substitute teachers. We are former teachers and lifelong educators; Patti is currently a substitute teacher. A "done-for-you" lesson plan that is scripted, correlated to standards and engaging for students takes something off the already over-crowded teacher plate and gives substitute teachers the confidence they need to deliver a lesson that adds academic value. ​

The content is correlated to standards, but is general enough not to introduce new concepts and appropriate for delivery by a substitute teacher. We also designed them to be flexible because all students aren't on grade level. A 6th grade plan could easily be used in a 7th or 8th grade class or vice versa. The plans are scripted to help the substitute with lesson flow and to give a new/inexperienced substitute as much concrete information as possible to keep students engaged. Each lesson plan book includes beginning of class "Focus Activities" and Behavior Management Tips, as well as a form for communication between teachers and subs.

Patti Alavarez has a Bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Miami. Angie Chapman has a a Bachelors degree in Special Education from Florida State University and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Central Florida. We are lifelong educators, learners and former teachers. Patti is now a substitute teacher. Substitute 911 began as a discussion about the unique challenges substitute teachers must overcome. One of those is what to do when a teacher created lesson plan is not available, which often happens in an emergency, especially if teachers are out longer than anticipated. We know teachers are required to prepare emergency plans in advance, but we also know that substitute teachers are sometimes asked to wing it when no plan is available. So we decided to become part of that solution.

The Social Studies, Science and ELA plans were written by Dr. Marcia Kosanovich: a reading educator with expertise in teaching struggling readers and extensive experience in professional development and curriculum development. She is a former classroom teacher with experience teaching kindergarten, first grade, third grade, ESE Pre-K, undergraduate and graduate courses, and tutoring K-12 students. She completed a doctorate in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Literacy at Florida State University in 2000. Dr. Kosanovich is the lead author of many literacy guidance documents for educators at the state, district, and school levels. She has co-authored an intervention reading curriculum designed for small group instruction, research articles in peer-reviewed journals, and chapters in books. For six years, she was the Director of Curriculum and Instructional Projects at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University and led the Center’s review of curricula and the development of the Student Center Activities, both of which are accessed and utilized across the United States. She was also the Deputy Director for the National Center on Instruction for Literacy and led the creation of professional development and guidance documents for regional and state level reading educators. Dr. Kosanovich was also the Intervention Director for the Targeted Reading Intervention (TRI) at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Currently, she is a Senior Research Associate for the Regional Educational Laboratory-Southeast at Florida State University and manages the School Leadership in North Carolina Research Alliance. Dr. Kosanovich is also an independent literacy consultant. The Math plans were written by Patti Shivers, a math educator with expertise in helping students understand and apply mathematical principles related to both Algebra and Geometry. She has over 20 years of classroom experience at the secondary level. Patti also invested 5 years as an Assistant Principal and she has experience as a Substitute Teacher. This combination uniquely qualifies her to write the middle school Math lesson plans for Substitute 911. ​Additionally, she has served on the ACSI and CSF accreditation teams, participated in in-depth study and implementation of Marzano's The Art and Science of Teaching and served on several mathematics scope and sequence curriculum committees. ​ Patti has a Bachelors Degree in Math Education from Trinity College in Palos Heights, IL. ​