Substitute teachers are an essential part of the schooling system. If a teacher is out, it is important someone is there to take over and supervise the students, guiding the class when needed.
To gain a better understanding of substitute teachers at La Salle, The Falconer interviewed a few of the folks who have taken on the job.
Ms. Nora Mylet:
Ms. Nora Mylet began her journey as a substitute teacher after her time teaching high school English.
However, this change was not immediate, as she took some time off from teaching to raise her three kids. She decided to become a substitute teacher because she thought it would be a “fun but flexible way to work without working full time.”
Ms. Mylet was born and raised in Salem, Oregon, and has spent most of her adult life in the Portland Metro area. At one point, though, she was offered a job teaching English in the JET Program abroad in Japan. She lived there with her family for one year before returning back to Oregon. She said she took the job with the JET program because she thought it would be a good experience and “wanted to live somewhere else.”
In addition to teaching English, Ms. Mylet also worked as a social worker. She worked for the Lake Oswego school district, and her job focused on helping students transition from high school life to adulthood. Her position consisted of helping kids with specific learning needs that are often overlooked in schools, “like how to catch the bus,” she said.
Ms. Mylet is also an avid enjoyer of the outdoors. She enjoys hiking and camping, she said, and “in the summertime [her family goes] canoeing and camping.” Her family also enjoys exploring the trails of Forest Park and the Columbia River Gorge.
In addition to the outdoors, Ms. Mylet is passionate about reading. She is part of a book club that reads books such as “Demon Copperhead” by Barbara Kingsolver, and they meet about once a month.
Since becoming a substitute teacher, Ms. Mylet has appreciated the flexible schedule, along with being able to see students prosper in a variety of subjects. She said that sometimes weeks have differing amounts of work, ranging from zero jobs a week to one every day.
Because of this, she said she enjoys “being a math teacher one day, and a science teacher another day.”
On average, Ms. Mylet said she works about three to four days a week, usually working at least three classes per day but sometimes even four or five.
She has worked as a substitute teacher in multiple school districts including West Linn and Lake Oswego; however, now she almost exclusively works at La Salle.
Ms. Mylet shared that some of the most meaningful times as a sub is when “students share a little bit about their experiences.”
Along with the “amazing students and teachers,” Ms. Mylet said she appreciates working at a Catholic school.
“I feel like we all share a greater purpose, no matter our personal beliefs,” she said. “Not everyone has that as part of their work day.”
Ms. Kelly Shackleton:
Ms. Kelly Shackleton began her journey as a substitute teacher with a desire to spend more time with her three daughters, and be there for their club basketball season.
Now that two of her children are off to college, it has left Ms. Shackleton with more free time to enjoy the outdoors through kayaking and hiking, and to make jewelry, which she has turned into a small business.
Making jewelry has been something Ms. Shackleton has spent a lot of time on throughout her life. “It got me through a lot of stressful times in college,” she said.
Ms. Shackleton attended University of California, Davis for medical school, with a focus on pathology, the study of disease. She enjoyed how research-focused the field was.
In her fourth year of medical school, she had her first daughter, which made the long hours difficult. She said was worried she would “never see [her] kids,” which was something she “was warned about” before beginning her medical school journey. After completing medical school, she worked in the field of pathology for seven years.
Her interest into the medical field began during her undergrad when she worked an internship at the Sacramento County Coroner’s office and assisted with autopsies. It was there she fell in love with the medical world, especially the study of diseases.
During her residency, she “always wanted to move up to the Pacific Northwest” because her dad’s side of the family was from the Puget Sound area,” and she was captivated by the beauty of the outdoor landscape.
She has lived in Oregon ever since.
Despite her extensive education, Ms. Shackleton said she valued her family more. This led her into the world of substitute teaching, which allowed her work hours to more closely resemble those of her daughters, allowing her to attend more of their basketball events. She enjoys the freedom of the job, and how it allows her to do something she enjoys, without eating into her time with her family.
Ms. Shackleton worked as a substitute teacher at multiple public schools before La Salle, but “the difference is huge,” she said. “The students [at La Salle] are more focused,” which has led her to work exclusively at La Salle.
“I really like the more specialized classes,” she said, as the students show more self-driven interest in the subject in her opinion. She likes seeing students find their own path in life, figuring out what they want to do. “It’s cool to be around our future leaders,” she said.
Mr. Christian Saavedra:
Mr. Christian Saavedra began his journey as a substitute teacher during the 2024-25 school year and has only been working at La Salle during the second semester.
He graduated from college in 2024, earning a degree in Spanish, French, and education from Lewis & Clark College.
Mr. Saavedra grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, until he moved to Colorado at age 15. He remembers visiting his grandparents in Tucson and going to Monument Valley.
“It’s a gorgeous spot,” he said. “It’s where all of the old Westerns my grandpa likes to watch were filmed.” This trip remains one of Saavedra’s favorite memories from his childhood.
Mr. Saavedra enjoys playing the guitar in his free time, with old country music being his favorite genre. He also enjoys playing card games with his dad who “was always into Magic the Gathering.”
Aside from working as a substitute teacher, he works as a Speech and Debate coach at Lincoln High School, and works at Dutch Bros, which he finds to be fun, and said he appreciates the “free coffee, too.”
He participated in speech and debate for seven years, and now has been coaching it for four. He said “watching the students I teach become better at advocating for themselves” is something he enjoys. “No matter what it is they’re advocating for,” he said.
Mr. Saavedra enjoys being able to see students experiencing different things in all the classes they take. “I don’t just see a student when they’re sad about being in [a class],” he said. “I still see them in the class that they’re most passionate about.”
Mr. Saavedra has aspirations of becoming a teacher in the future.
“Substitute teaching is a good way to start,” he said, as it helps build understanding of what it’s like to be a teacher before undergoing the full process.
“I want to teach high school,” he said. “That’s why I was looking to be a sub at La Salle.”
In the future, he hopes to teach either English, French, or Spanish.
