The 5,000 member union still needs to ratify the 3-year tentative agreement on Sunday, and some teachers have questioned whether there is support to approve.
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Chicago teachers, who went on strike in 2012, pushed for more recruitment of teachers of color so students would have proper role models, Bruno said. “There is a lot of concern that the wages are not high enough”.
Margaret Gingrich, a second-grade teacher at Montlake Elementary…
Teachers, substitutes and support staff complained that living expenses have become unaffordable as the city’s high-paid technology industry booms and they have gone six years without a cost-of-living increase. The district says classes could begin as early as Thursday. Kids huddled with their friends, parents to helped younger children find new classrooms and many pulled out cameras to snap selfies.
Students begin classes knowing that six days of school will need to be rescheduled, which the district said could extend the school year or shorten mid-year vacation breaks. Graduation dates for seniors will likely change as well. “There are two sides to a story and not everybody knows it”. Some brought children to work, while others used city community centers and other programs.
Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Larry Nyland thanked families for their “patience and perseverance”.
Parent Heather Dachary said the issue of recess and the extended school day were important to her. “If you’re stretching teachers too thin without compensating them, then the kids are the ones who are going to suffer along with the teachers”, she said.
The walkout that began Sept. 9 delayed the start of school in Washington state’s largest district. “It’ll be great to have her back in school”, said Johnson, a massage therapist who patched together childcare in the past week by using one of the city’s community centers and alternating schedules with his wife. She was a picket captain and was part of the meeting Tuesday night in which teachers narrowly voted to suspend the strike.
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Union President Jonathan Knapp said the agreement addresses major sticking points around pay, testing, student equity, teacher evaluations and the length of the school day. “What if things don’t pan out?” he asked.
