A decade of dedication: Albert Ramirez has completed 1,000 shifts!

Scoot sub and decade-long teacher, Albert Ramirez, has set a new standard to the meaning of dedication. After five years of teaching at Rosa Parks Academy in CA’s Central Valley, Albert retired and joined Scoot as a sub. Six years later, he’s completed 1,000 shifts with Scoot!

In this interview, he shares his experience as an art teacher and interventionist specialist. He deeply values seeing the students grow, mature, and transition into brighter futures. Many of his students have grown from transitional kindergarten into high school.

What’s your name? What kind of classrooms do you typically support?

My name is Albert Ramirez, and I do a little bit of everything here at Rosa Parks. I’m an intervention specialist, and I worked here as a K-1 teacher for five years before retiring around COVID.

When COVID hit, all schools shut down and I was out for about a year. But when they reopened in 2021, Rosa Parks reached out. Schools needed teachers, so I came right back to help.

It was my last school before the shutdown, so returning felt natural. The principal offered me a year-round sub role, and I said yes without hesitating.

Now I’m back doing what I love: supporting wherever I’m needed and volunteering for a lot of stuff too.

We’re just like one big happy family here.

What led you to keep teaching as a substitute teacher? What’s your favorite part about teaching?

Just the joy of watching the kids grow up and mature.

From TK all the way up to fifth grade here—that’s a big treat. Watching them mature, both academically and socially, is my favorite part about teaching.

I also feel like I still have a lot to offer. Whether it’s music, art, or printmaking, I want to share everything I can with the kids. My first love was becoming an art teacher, so I enjoy being able to do that.

The biggest reward is seeing students I’ve known since they were in TK transition up into sixth grade away from here. So many of them have outgrown me!

Do your students come back to visit you?

You know what? Some do, especially if they have siblings here. Now a lot of them are in ninth grade, and it’s amazing to see how much they’ve grown.

They’re all like my grandkids—that’s the joy of it all.

You’ve been with Scoot since 2021 and you’ve completed 1,000 shifts! What does that milestone mean to you?

Wow, that honestly came as a surprise. I never really thought about it because that’s not something I was tracking, you know?

When you’re doing the job you love, you don’t even worry about counting the days. You just love what you’re doing.

Can you share with me a moment that was really rewarding to you as an educator?

Saying goodbye to my fifth graders that were once my kindergarteners, seeing them get ready to move on to another school.

I used to always play them this song called, “You Are My Sunshine.” And we performed that for the parents, who cried–not a single dry eye in the room.

That’s something you never forget.

Can you share a challenging experience you had as a sub?

There are always challenges in teaching, especially as a substitute. A lot of the challenges usually have to do with behaviors and helping students build stronger social skills, making sure they learn how to get along with one another and work together.

What advice would you give to someone subbing for the very first time?

Get to know the kids.

Learn who they are, their likes and dislikes, and be their friend. Building that connection helps everything run more smoothly.

As a substitute teacher, we’re just there for a short while–stepping into someone else’s classroom. So students can act differently when their regular teacher isn’t there.

We just do our best to figure the students out and show up for them.

And no matter what the lesson plans are, you’ve got to bring your own personality into teaching as well.

What’s it like working as a Scoot educator?

I really appreciated all the information Scoot would provide us regularly.  The consistent communication, job updates, and scheduling tools make it easy to update our work schedules and pick up available job opportunities.

But beyond that, it’s about feeling connected. It’s nice putting a face or name to Scoot. You know your subs well. I know Clarissa’s name [Albert’s dedicated Scoot consultant] and now yours too [his interviewer from Scoot!].

How do you help kids stay winning?

Every student comes from a different background, and as educators, we don’t always know what they’re going through outside of school. That’s why it’s so important to treat them with empathy and fairness.

Just being honest with them and simply being there. Sometimes, that presence is exactly what they need most.

If you could describe your experience with Scoot in one word, what would it be?

Adventure. It’s been a good adventure with Scoot. Because it gives us a chance to continue being employed, to keep working, and to not give up.

Every day brings something new, and there’s always an opportunity to learn, grow, and make an impact.

Conclusion

Albert has served the community at Rosa Parks Academy for a decade and completed 1,000 shifts, but his impact is more than numbers could ever quantify.

His heart and dedication to students is an inspiration to us. We’re thrilled to celebrate his accomplishments and many more years of joyful work in the classroom.

Curious about starting your own subbing adventure with Scoot? We’ll support you all the way.

Apply now