The Substitute Teaching Institute at Utah State University (STI/USU) was established by Geoffrey G. Smith in 1995 to provide substitute teachers with handbooks containing educational "how-tos" and classroom fill-in activities. STI/USU evolved and grew to become the national leader in the improvement of substitute teaching by providing products and services to school districts and substitute teachers nationwide.
The U.S. Department of Education recognized the leadership of STI/USU in 1997 with the first-ever awarding of federal funds for field-initiated research in the realm of substitute teaching. STI/USU then forged ahead implementing research-based practices to improve recruiting, training, and retention efforts in school districts throughout the United States.
STI/USU provided a wide variety of training materials and services designed to improve the quality of substitute teaching. STI/USU was dissolved in 2008 and is now operating as STEDI.org.
On August 1, 2008, Utah State University signed a license agreement with the Substitute Teaching Division of STEDI, LLC (STEDI.org) to market and distribute the educational materials developed at STI/USU and services developed by the Substitute Teaching Institute (STI).
This license agreement means STEDI.org is now the sole-source for all of the great materials developed at the Substitute Teaching Institute and provides the same outstanding service STI has always provided. STEDI.org continues the research, distribution, and training as well as the mission which began at STI/USU.
