Substitute teachers and support staff—social media guidance.

While social media is great for keeping us connected to family and friends, it requires extra care when it comes to our employment relationships.   

If you work in a school as a substitute teacher, paraeducator, tutor, or support staff, be mindful of what you post on social media. As a leader of students, you have responsibilities for being a role model in your school community.  

First and foremost, it is your responsibility to follow the policies laid out by your school district. If you work for Kelly Education, you must also follow the policies outlined in our Handbook and Standards of Professional Conduct.

In this article, we highlight a few ways you can make sure to put your best foot forward in protecting students, your reputation, and your employment.

Social media policies are in place to protect you, the students, and the district.

Social media policies are designed to help you steer clear of situations that could negatively impact employment.  

Fully understanding and abiding by these policies can help avoid negative employment consequences and keep you working at the school districts and school locations that you enjoy.  

Here are some general guidelines for social media accounts.  

• Never use recording devices or photo and video cameras, including cell phone cameras, on academic institution grounds or in a virtual teaching environment.  

• Do not post pictures of students or selfies of yourself at work in a classroom or on school grounds.  

• Do not post pictures of yourself at work... to avoid inadvertently sharing the layout of school buildings.

• Ensure you represent a positive role model in all academic institutions and community relations.  

• Do not post anything that could be interpreted as harassment or discrimination based on protected classes, including religion, age, sex, race, and national origin. 

• Do not represent yourself as a spokesperson for your employer or school district unless specifically asked by your district or Kelly representative. 

• Refrain from personal social media or electronic device use during working hours unless authorized by your supervisor or manager. 

• Do not use company or school email addresses or phone numbers for personal social media accounts. 
• Always treat others with courtesy, kindness, and respect, both on social media and in everyday life. 
  

Ask yourself, "Am I okay with anyone out there seeing this?" 

Students and their parents can potentially see anything you post online. Be mindful of the content you share and don't post anything that could be considered inappropriate or unprofessional.   

• Before you post, a good rule of thumb is to ask yourself, "Would I be okay if my employers, students, students' parents, coworkers, or anyone else saw this?" If you have any hesitation at all, it is a good idea to refrain from posting .  

• If you have an issue, it’s usually best to resolve it through human communication rather than posting or debating on social media.

• If you are experiencing an issue with a coworker, school administrators, or with your employment agency, go through the proper channels immediately to resolve the issue together.  

Remember, once you post something, assume it's live forever. Even if you attempt to delete it in the future, you never know who's already seen it or captured a screenshot.  

Do not connect with students outside of your classroom assignments.

As a substitute teacher or educator, never intentionally attempt to contact, or be contacted by, a student on social media or otherwise outside of your assignment. This includes, but is not limited to, face-to-face, texting, phone calls, or social media activity via mobile or electronic devices.   

• You should only interact with students through the appropriate channels in school and on the days you're assigned to work with those students.

• Some students might ask you if you're on social media. If so, you can inform them that it's against policy to connect with students on private social media accounts and do not give out your contact information.   

• If students attempt to "friend" you on your personal Facebook or other social media, decline the request.

• You should also refrain from "following" or becoming the student's "friend" on their private accounts.

• It's also best to set your social media profile settings to "private" so you can more easily monitor who sees your posts or attempts to "follow" you online.  

Review your online profile during your job search. 

The moment you start searching for an education job, it's time to start thinking about your online presence.   

Though many human resources teams discourage hiring managers from looking at social media profiles because it could result in bias, some employers check out social profiles early in the application process. 

Interested parents and students also regularly check social media profiles.   

That’s why you should review all your social media accounts, from LinkedIn and Instagram to Facebook and TikTok. Do you have any posts that could be considered inappropriate or controversial? If so, consider deleting them and begin using the tips outlined above to keep things on the up and up moving forward, both before and after you're hired.  

Working with Kelly Education.

Responsibly using social media aligns with substitute teacher expectations related to keeping students safe and adhering to policies set forth by school districts. Visit our website to get more substitute teacher career advice tips.

If you’d like to work in schools or have a friend who might be interested in joining our team, fill out our brief interest form. One of our recruiters will contact you to answer questions and share more about education jobs with one of our school district partners.