FAQs - Principals and Secretaries
What is Kelly Educational Staffing?
Kelly Educational Staffing is a service line of global staffing solutions provider Kelly Services, Inc., which specializes in the recruitment, placement, and management of substitute teachers. As the national leader in educational staffing, Kelly Educational Staffing has partnered with more than 2,900 public and private schools in 45 states, the District of Columbia and the United Kingdom. During the history of our program, Kelly Educational Staffing has successfully filled nearly three million classrooms with substitute teachers who meet and/or exceed state and local teacher requirements.
When will this program be in place?
The start date of the Kelly Educational Staffing program will be in place on January 14, 2008.
What happens to the current substitute teacher/paraprofessional/clerical pool? Will Kelly automatically hire all of our substitute teachers?
Kelly Educational Staffing will offer each substitute teacher, substitute paraprofessional, and substitute clerical employee currently working in the school district the opportunity to transition their employment to Kelly. Upon successful completion of the Kelly hiring process, they will become Kelly substitute employees available for placement within the school district.
What should we tell our current substitute teachers/paraprofessionals/clerical employees?
Each substitute employee has been invited to meet with a Kelly representative to go through the screening, hiring, and orientation processes. You can refer any current substitute employees that have not yet transitioned their employment to the Kelly Educational Staffing branch office at 417-887-1917.
What types of qualifications will Kelly Educational Staffing substitute employees have?
Kelly Educational Staffing mirrors the SPS hiring process. Our substitute employees are carefully screened and trained to meet all state, local and SPS qualifications and requirements. In Addition, Kelly Educational Staffing screens each employee using the National Sexual Offender Registry Search to gather information from sexual offender repositories in all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.
What kinds of training do Kelly Educational Staffing substitute teachers and paraprofessionals receive?
All Kelly Educational Staffing substitute teachers and paraprofessionals must complete an orientation and training session before entering the classroom. This includes:
- School-specific training to meet each school district’s requirements
- Substitute teacher orientation, including a review of topics such as classroom management, teaching strategies, fill-in activities, and legal and health related issues
- A Kelly Educational Staffing program orientation
Each substitute teacher and paraprofessional receives a free, comprehensive grade-specific Substitute Teacher Handbook developed by The Substitute Teaching Institute at Utah State University, the national leader in substitute teacher training. Kelly also offers a variety of web-based educational training and professional development courses via the Kelly Learning Center, along with other free software training.
What if my school is not pleased with a substitute employee from Kelly?
Principals will maintain control of the substitute employees that are allowed to accept assignments at their school. You can notify Kelly as soon as possible if you are dissatisfied with the performance of a substitute employee and Kelly representatives will work with you to remedy the situation.
Who will direct the classroom activities of the substitute teacher and paraprofessional?
The school principal will continue to supervise and control the activities of the substitute employee in the classroom. The substitute employees will be required to follow the lesson plans and instructions left by the absent full-time employee.
How will principals/employees request substitute employees from Kelly?
Kelly utilizes an automated scheduling system. The Kelly Automated Scheduling System (KASS) is an easy-to-use system that can be accessed either via the Internet or the telephone. Substitute employees can utilize KASS to accept jobs and manage their schedule, and full-time employees and principals can utilize KASS to log absences and view absence history.
What is the Kelly Automated Scheduling System (KASS)?
KASS is an automated scheduling system utilized by Kelly that is accessible either via the Web or the telephone via an IVR system. KASS allows:
- Employees (or principals and secretaries) to log absences on the Internet or using the IVR (Interactive Voice Response)
- Substitute employees to accept positions that require a substitute via the Internet or the IVR technology and record time-worked for payroll purposes
- Administrators/Principals to have access to absence data and reports
When is KASS available?
You can report your absences 24 hours a day, seven days a week up until 30 minutes before school starts on the day of the absence.
If you need to report a same-day absence and there is less than 30 minutes before school starts, just call Kelly Educational Staffing at 417-887-1917. Please notify us as soon as you know you’ll be absent.
What are my ID and PIN to access KASS?
Your 10-digit KASS ID is your SPS Employee ID followed by zeros to equal 10 digits. (Example: 1234000000.) Your KASS PIN will be the 4-digit mm/dd of your birthday. (Example: If your birthday is May 5th, your KASS PIN would be 0505.) You are free to change your KASS PIN at anytime via your KASS home page.
What if I’ve already scheduled a substitute for an absence that will take place after January 14, 2008?
Kelly will be receiving a report from your current automated scheduling system with details about any absences that have already been logged (and the name of the substitute that has been assigned, if applicable) and will automatically transfer that information to KASS. This would also apply to any long-term positions that began prior to January 14th, but continue on after January 14th.
Often times substitute employees are prearranged by a principal/teacher in advance - does Kelly allow this?
Yes. If you’ve already spoken with the substitute employee and prearranged that person to fill in during an absence, you can assign that person to the absence in KASS. If you are using the internet feature of KASS, you can assign that person by searching for their last name. If you are using the telephone (IVR) feature of KASS, you will need the substitute’s 10-digit home phone number. Review KASS School Employee Guide for specific instructions.
What are preferred substitute employees?
These are substitute employees who you and your principal have decided should get the first opportunity to view assignments in KASS for your school. If you want to add a substitute employee to your school’s preference list, please e-mail your request to 3654@kellyservices.com.
How do I indicate a half-day absence in KASS?
On the Create an Absence screen, select either Half Day am or Half Day pm. The default start and end times for your school will be selected automatically. If you will be absent during non-standard hours or if your regular work hours differ from the default start and end times listed, select Custom and enter the appropriate absence times.
What if I am going to have an extended absence?
You cannot enter information on absences of five days or more into KASS. Please call the Kelly Educational Staffing branch at 417-887-1917 to record your absence. Always contact your principal to discuss the situation.
What do I do if I have difficulty using KASS?
Please refer to your KASS School Employee Guide for step-by-step instructions.
If you have further questions, please call us at 417-887-1917. If you reach our voice-mail system, leave a detailed message with all necessary absence information, including the reason for the absence.
If you experience technical difficulty when using KASS, call 1-800-KELLY-38 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. et.
What if I don’t have a touch-tone phone?
Access KASS online at www.kellyeducationalstaffing.com or call us at 417-887-1917 to report your absence.
What if I have requests for substitutes to cover vacant positions or have requests for extra help that fall outside of the areas noted above?
Contact Kelly Educational Staffing to discuss your specific needs at 417-887-1917. Be prepared with the appropriate GL account to charge for substitute.
Where does Kelly get the employee data that is in KASS?
SPS transfers updated employee data to KASS on a daily basis. If any employee information is incorrect in KASS, contact Kelly Educational Staffing (417) 887-1917. Kelly will work directly with SPS to correct/verify the data.
What is KASS Web Time?
KASS Web Time is an easy-to-use, online timekeeping component of the Kelly Automated Scheduling System. Substitute employees enter their time-worked via the Internet or IVR, and school approvers receive an e-mail with a URL that allows them to approve timesheets online. In addition, KASS Web Time will allow schools to identify appropriate GL account information for substitute requests funded by a grant or other special fund.
Who must approve timesheets at my school?
Each school must assign one approver that will be responsible for electronically approving timesheets each week. In the event that approver is absent, a second approver can be assigned to approve timesheets during the original approver’s absence.
What happens if my Internet connection is not working and I need to approve timesheets?
You can utilize any computer with an Internet connection to approve timesheets. If this is not possible, please call the Kelly branch and a representative can assist you.
When can I select an GL account if the substitute needs to be charged to a grant or other special fund?
You will have the opportunity to select a special GL account at the time of Web time approval OR the code can be entered on the absence screen in KASS up until the KASS timesheet approval deadline of Tuesday at 11:59AM (for the prior workweek.) Regardless of what option you use to update the GL account, the information will be updated in on the KASS absence record and on the timesheet.
School-level administrators are responsible for selecting an appropriate GL account for site-level charges. District-level administrators are responsible for selecting an appropriate GL account for professional development, special education, and other district-level charges.
What happens if I forget to approve my school’s weekly timesheets or forget to select a necessary GL account?
If the KASS timesheets are not approved by Tuesday at 11:59PM (for the prior workweek), then the timesheet information will be automatically approved and sent to the Kelly Payroll processing center. In addition, if a necessary GL account is not selected by Tuesday at 11:59PM, the information will not transmit to SPS during the billing process.
What should I do if I change substitutes teachers’ assignments in the morning when they arrive at the school (i.e. assign a substitute teacher to a different teacher’s classroom than the original teacher noted in KASS?)
Please call the Kelly branch as soon as possible to notify them of the change. Notifying your Kelly branch when a change in a substitute teacher’s assignment occurs is critical to ensure that Kelly can submit accurate invoices to your school district and maintain accurate records in KASS.
What happens when I reject a substitute employee’s time that was submitted?
If you reject a substitute employee’s time, you will be the able to make comments on why you rejected the time. This information is immediately sent to the substitute employee via e-mail or IVR notification. The substitute employee will then be able to revise their timesheet and resubmit for approval.
What happens if I forget to assign an alternative KASS Web Time approver in KASS when I will be out of the office?
Please contact the Kelly customer service center at 1-866-KELLY-38. A representative can designate an alternate approver for you. Alternatively, you can also contact your local Kelly branch. Remember, if you do not approve the timesheet by Tuesday at 11:59PM, the timesheet will be automatically approved.