Frequently Asked Questions

There are two main parts of our service:

1. We identify, vet, and build a pool of qualified substitute teachers in your area.
2. We connect you with these substitute teachers via an easy-to-use, web-based platform.

We currently work with more than 1,500 schools/district partners, including public, charter, and private schools. These range from large public districts that serve tens of thousands of students to single-site private schools with just a few dozen.

We currently work with schools in California, Illinois (Chicago), New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Washington D.C. if you’d like more information about how we serve your region.

Here’s why our substitute teachers tell us they like working with Swing:

• We pay them each week.
• We provide access to more schools and districts with a single application.
• They enjoy working in a variety of school and classroom settings.
• We support our substitute teachers with teaching resources, networking events, access to a supportive community, and more.

We offer several flexible pricing plans, including a pay-as-you-go option with no upfront fees.

A service fee is added to each successful fill that covers recruiting costs, background checks and fees, data-driven matching, monthly reporting, substitute teacher payment processing, and access to substitute teacher profiles and metrics.

Our service fee plus your substitute teacher pay rate (which you set) comprise the total cost to use Swing Education.

for more information on pricing for your school or district.

We get your administrators trained and system set up for no cost to you, and you should be up and running within a week.

Very Reliable! It’s very rare that a Swing substitute teacher fails to show up for an assignment. In fact, our reliability rate is north of 99.7%.

Not long at all. Although the specifics will vary depending on the type of request (i.e. single-day vs. long-term) and the time the request is issued (i.e. it will likely be accepted more quickly if issued at 6 p.m. rather than 2 a.m.), it generally takes less than a minute to issue a request, and you’ll generally be matched with a substitute teacher within 10 minutes.

We view this as a three-part process:

Step 1: Finding Subs

Swing Education is committed to expanding the pool of talent in the teaching profession, so we welcome bright and motivated candidates into our pipeline.

We do this by sourcing our sub pool from a variety of digital and offline sources, including:

• Conferences and events
• Website and social media presence
• Online and newspaper ads
• Referrals from existing substitute teachers

Step 2: Screening

Swing Education takes substitute teacher quality seriously – less than 10 percent of registrants become Swing substitute teachers.

All Swing Education substitute teachers must have a bachelor’s degree and complete state-mandated requirements, plus any other screening requirements throughout the school year.

Step 3: Quality Assurance

Swing Education offers partner schools access to our Quality Management System, which allows you to:

• Specifically request a certain teacher to fill a request
• Add teachers to your favorites list
• Submit positive and negative feedback about the teacher
• Remove the teacher from your pool

Over time, based on your feedback and as we learn more about your preferences, we’ll be able to build a curated pool for your school(s).

Swing works with many schools/districts that use in-house substitute teachers. We’ve found that even schools/districts with sizable internal pools may struggle to fill absences during PD days, on Mondays/Fridays, and during flu season. Because Swing charges only for absences that we fill, many schools/districts view us as a risk-free backup plan.

Many of our partners have existing absence management software and have found that our product is complementary to theirs. We provide the necessary usage reporting to ensure filled requests are accurate, and our billing invoices are customized so there are no financial reporting or integration issues.

SwingSubs are tiered based on feedback and performance data. Our best substitute teachers are called Star Subs, and they have priority access to requests. Substitute teachers in lower tiers will see fewer requests, and we support them with a range of resources to help them improve.

You can view a range of substitute teacher performance data, including:

• Credentials (30-day permit or full credential)
• Work history
• How long the substitute has worked at Swing
• Whether the substitute is a Star Sub
• How many schools the substitute has worked
• How many times schools have specifically requested the substitute to work again
• How many schools have marked the substitute as a “favorite”
• The most recent schools where the substitute has worked
• The most recent feedback the substitute has received

Yes! While we specialize in matching substitute teachers with schools/districts, we can meet many other staffing needs, including clerical, after-school, and more. We also offer classified substitutes, who fill roles such as paraeducators and instructional aides.

We’re committed to providing substitute teachers with the tools they need to succeed and grow.

• Our team of former educators and K-12 experts contributes to our online resource center, which provides information and support related to classroom management, professional development, teaching strategies, and more.
• We've teamed with STEDI to offer the best-in-class SubSkills course to substitute teachers at no cost to them.
• We work with our school partners across all regions to create teacher shadowing opportunities and school-based substitute teacher orientations in the summer and fall.
• We hold end-of-year substitute teacher celebration/community-building events.

We’d be happy to answer any additional questions you may have and/or to set up a free, 10-minute demo of our product. to get started.