You already know childcare's staffing problem.

Now you can build the company that helps solve it.

A complete business-building system for childcare owners and experienced early childhood leaders, built from an operating substitute teacher placement company. Build, launch, and grow your own in your market. 

Not a franchise. Your business, your name, your market.

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Aleta's substitute teacher business model was exactly what I needed, at exactly the right time! I've always been confident in hiring and staffing my 5 centers but the world of hiring continues to change, and I think it's important to try new things and change as the world does. For years, I have heard Aleta talk about how amazing her TFT was and it finally clicked with me. Aleta has been a mentor for me for so many years, and it was great to work with her to start my sub company. My goal was to help support staffing holes, call ins, but more importantly, to be able to take my enrollment to a new level without the added stress on my Directors and Teachers. My sub team only continues to grow each week, and my center's overall morale and teacher support is better than it has ever been!


Andrea Majewski

Regional Director, The Learning Tree

You may be closer to this business than you think

Maybe you own

childcare centers

You live the staffing problem every week, and you want to grow without opening another center.

Maybe you lead centers

or a region

You've spent years solving staffing problems for someone else's company, and you're ready to build something you own.

Maybe you have a

leader ready for more

You own centers and have a strong leader on your team who could become the operator of your substitute teacher placement company.

You don't have to come in knowing how to run a staffing company. That's what TFTOS teaches you. You bring the leadership and the willingness to execute.

Or maybe you're coming from outside childcare. Book a call and we'll talk honestly about whether the fit is there.

MEET ALETA MECHTEL, FOUNDER

Built from a company I've operated since 2013

After 13 years of owning and directing childcare centers, I was done scrambling every time someone called out. In 2013, I started hiring and training my own substitutes for my centers. Then I saw that centers across our region needed the same thing, so I expanded to serve them too. That became Teachers for Tomorrow, which has placed more than 68,000 substitute teacher hours in a single year.

As the company grew, childcare owners in other markets started asking how they could build something similar. TFTOS is my answer: the playbooks, processes, and lessons behind a company I'm still operating today, including the mistakes, so you don't have to repeat them. You don't have to start where I started. You get to start where I am now.

→ TFTOS gives you the system.
→ My team and I help you implement it.
→ You build the business.

As seen in...

What's inside the system

You're not buying a pile of videos. You're getting the playbooks and processes behind a substitute teacher placement company that's operating today, organized into four areas. Training videos, workbooks, forms, and templates all live in one online hub you can come back to anytime.

MODULE 1: Business Back Office & Day-to-Day Operations

Set up your company and run the day to day, from business structure, website, and marketing to scheduling, hiring, and the back-office processes that keep placements moving.

MODULE 2: Teacher Training

Recruit, train, onboard, manage, and retain your substitute teachers. The substitute workforce is different from your full-time staff, and this module teachers you how to reach it.

MODULE 3: Working with Partner Schools

Market to childcare programs, contract with them, measure each partnership, and know when it's time to part ways.

MODULE 4: Resources

Every form, template, and system link in one place, because if the process only lives in someone's head, you don't have a process.

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Aleta Mechtel is the go-to resource for successfully starting a thriving childcare substitute teacher placement business. She utilized her deep understanding and experience in childcare to create an amazing substitute teacher company of her own, and the fact that she is willing to offer the Teachers for Tomorrow Operating System to others is simply incredible. However, that is just the beginning, as she and her team are constantly available to answer any question or guide you through the process to get your own substitute company going. Yes, it still takes commitment and hard work to make your own company successful, but having Aleta’s blueprint helps ensure that you have the foundation for an awesome organization.


Brian Sprafka

Owner, Sunflower Childcare Substitutes & Small Hands, Big Dreams Learning Centers

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Aleta and her team have been so helpful to me. I feel like they are personal cheerleaders. Anytime I need inspiration or need that kick in the butt to keep going and know I can do this, they do that. That is the biggest attribute I've noticed from Aleta and her team. They can always give me a direction and a focus to keep going.


Jen Gelhar

Co-Owner & Operator, Just in Time Teachers

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The fact that Aleta had already thought through all the details. It was just so complete. From the contracts to the trainings to the how-tos, how to set it up, how to set up your own company, how to hire, how to interview, how to train, how to market. It was a complete package and it's really a no-brainer if you follow all the steps they tell you to do.


Karen Brown

Master Consultant at Childcare Business Professionals and Chief Program Officer at EnCourage Preschools

This is your company, not a franchise

Not done-for-you. Not passive income. A real business you build and own.

Your business, your name, your market. TFTOS gives you the system, the training, and a team that supports you through implementation. You bring the leadership, the startup capital, and the execution. When something isn't working, we look at the numbers, the process, and the steps you took before we decide the system is broken.

STILL NOT SURE? ARE YOU THINKING...

I am already stretched thin. How will I ever be able to run a substitute teacher placement company too?

You shouldn't run it on top of everything else. This is a separate business, and it needs its own operator, whether that's you stepping into the role or a strong leader on your team.

Where owners get stuck:

  • Squeezing it into nights and weekends

  • Running it like a childcare center

  • Pricing it off what they pay their own teachers

Common Questions

How will I find substitutes when I can barely hire for my own center?

You're not recruiting the same person for the same job. Many substitutes want flexibility, fewer ongoing classroom responsibilities, and control over when, where, and how much they work. They may not want lesson planning, conferences, or having to request time off. That's a different talent pool, and TFTOS teaches you how to reach and hire it.

How does the business make money?

You bill partner centers an hourly rate for each placement hour and pay your substitutes an hourly wage. As an illustrative example only: paying a substitute about $24 an hour and billing about $40 an hour can leave roughly $6 per placement hour as profit after expenses when the business is run correctly. Your actual results depend on your pricing, wages, utilization, overhead, market, and execution. We walk through the real numbers for your market on a call.

How long does it take to launch?

It depends on your market, your operator, and how consistently you execute. Our team will help you set a goal launch date and work with you on the milestones that get you there.

What are the advantages of running this alongside my centers?

Your centers can serve as an interview and training site, your experienced teachers can give new substitutes feedback, and your own centers can draw from your substitute pool. It still runs as a separate business with its own operator, pricing, and scorecard.

What support will I have?

Beyond the training portal and resources, you'll have a designated Success Rep who checks in with you regularly, plus a community of other owners building the same kind of company. When you get stuck, we help you identify the immediate priority, set short-term goals, and work through it until you're clear on your next move.

Is this a franchise?

No. You don't buy into a franchise or operate under our brand. It's your business, your name, and your market. TFTOS provides the system and support. You provide the leadership and execution.

How do I get started?

Book a call. We'll map your market, talk through fit on both sides, and walk you through what building a substitute teacher placement company looks like.

Let's map out your market.

When you book a call, we'll look at your market, talk through whether this is the right fit for you and for us, and walk you through the steps of building your own substitute teacher placement company.