Seattle teachers union representatives and school district leaders announced Tuesday night the approval of a tentative agreement. This suggests that Seattle’s teachers will be going back to work soon. Garfield High School student jazz musicians, in the background, play in support as teachers march in front of the school.
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The edges reached a deal, however the Seattle academics union’s government board and consultant meeting should log off on it earlier than the strike can finish, Washington Schooling Affiliation spokesman Wealthy Wooden stated.
The sides have been negotiating over issues that include teacher pay, evaluations and school day length.
The agreement also calls for a mandatory, daily 30-minute recess for elementary school students, more say for teachers about standardized testing and a longer school day, Knapp said. Before negotiations resumed, members of the district’s school board argued that while they would like to pay teachers more, they “simply do not have the funds”.
Raises: 3 percent in first year; 2 percent in second; 4.5 percent in third (state cost-of-living raise is additional).
Details of the deal will not be released until the union has a chance to share them with its members, according to the district.
“This contract had been about equity and providing the best for our students and we fought those things to the bone”, said Laura Lehni, Washington Middle School Teacher. The district’s 53,000 students begin classes on Thursday. The town opened 21 group facilities across the metropolis to assist accommodate as much as three, 000 college students.
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Larry Nyland, who’s been in the permanent position since January, has extensive experience managing districts after they’ve had long walkouts, but he hadn’t demonstrated how to end one.
The Seattle City Council also threw its support behind the striking educators, passing a resolution Monday recognizing the union.
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“It shows that if we organize and remain united, we can resist attacks on public education”, she said. People, who have bad attendance habits in school, are more likely to have those same bad habits once they enter the work force, which in turn, makes it harder to keep a job or to be promoted to higher-paying positions. Some $37 million of that will go to Seattle. The union proposed studying the pros and cons of an extended school day. “This is really a great way to make sure our children are taken care of”, she said.
