Seattle Public Schools remain closed days into the new school year as teachers continue strike
By Hannah Sarisohn and Nouran Salahieh, CNNUpdated: Tue, 13 Sep 2022 04:21:05 GMTSource: CNNFive days into the new school year, Seattle Public Schools have yet to open their doors to students as teach
By Hannah Sarisohn and Nouran Salahieh, CNNUpdated: Tue, 13 Sep 2022 04:21:05 GMT
Source: CNN
Five days into the new school year, Seattle Public Schools have yet to open their doors to students as teachers take part in a strike that continues without an agreement with the district.
The strike began Wednesday, which was meant to be the first day of school for about 50,000 students in the Seattle school district.
The action comes as schools around the country face shortages of teachers, who are increasingly voicing frustration at being underpaid and underappreciated, teaching in crowded classrooms and in challenging conditions made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Seattle, educators are on strike to demand more support for students, including interpretation and translation services for those receiving multilingual education, and improved special education staffing ratios, according to the Seattle Education Association, a union that represents about 6,000 employees.
"We're educators. We don't have lots of experience with striking. It's not what we want to be doing. We want to be in our schools with our students," teacher Ellen Santarelli said in a Facebook video. "However, to get what our students need ... we are willing to go outside of our comfort zones -- thousands of steps outside of our comfort zones."
The union also wants higher wages and more support and controls to prevent educator burnout, including capping some class sizes.
"While Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and Seattle Education Association (SEA) have not yet reached a final agreement, they have come to a resolution on several key proposals," the district said in a statement Monday while announcing schools will remain closed Tuesday. "Negotiations continue, and we hope to have a full tentative agreement soon."
The union on Sunday also said it eager to get teachers back in their classrooms.
"We are making progress and call on the district to match our urgency -- we need them to meet our students' needs and support educators NOW. We want to be back with our students!" the association said in a Facebook post Sunday.
Educators have been on the picket lines for days, holding up signs that read "make mental health a priority," "fund essential supports," and "students should be able to see a nurse any schoolday."
Students will also not be going to school Tuesday at another district in Washington state -- the Ridgefield School District -- as bargaining teams continue monthslong negotiations.
Ridgefield teachers went on strike Friday, calling for more mental health supports, improvements for special education students and a better program for student interventions at the district, which enrolls about 3,850 students near the Oregon border.
They joined thousands of other educators around the country who in recent weeks have also taken to the picket lines to negotiate for better contracts and improved classroom conditions.
Last week, another Washington state public school district -- the Kent School District -- ended talks that had similarly delayed the academic year since getting underway in July.
Teachers in Kent, represented by the Kent Education Association, ended their strike after reaching an agreement with the school district.
Two weeks prior, a Columbus, Ohio, teacher's union ended a dayslong strike over classroom conditions and teacher pay after reaching an agreement, which included guarantees that classrooms will be climate controlled by the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year, as well as a reduction in class sizes.
Teachers at Ohio's largest school district had complained that students in some cases had to learn in classrooms with no functional air conditioning.
