Photo credit: LA Times
Teachers are launching their first strike in 30 years, and here is what you need to know about it.
Teachers, students and parents will be striking for fairer wages, smaller classrooms, more classroom supplies and support to ultimately provide a better future for students.
Campuses so far have no idea how many students are going to show up to school today, thus parents really need to consider whether it’s worth even showing up. District officials say that the schools will be open to feed their students, however, the regular in-class curriculum will not be occurring.
According to the LA Times, “Most schools are scheduled to be open during normal hours and offer after-school programming, though extracurricular activities and sports are on hold. State preschool sites will be closed, and early education centers will only be open for students with special needs.”
Several schools in the LAUSD will be resorting to online education, and will be rounding up the students to teach them in large spaces.
The district has also set up a strike hotline that will be running from 6a.m. to 4p.m. for parents to call in with inquiries. The number for the hotline is (213) 443-1300.
“Nearly 500,000 students are enrolled in the LA Unified School District, the second-largest school system, and an overwhelming majority come from low-income families,” according to LA Times.
The unfortunate reality is that for many of these students, school is a place of safety for them to seek help from trauma happening outside of school, and also a place for them to have a guaranteed 2-3 meals.
LA Times states, “Though the union has asked for parents and children to join teachers on the picket line, it has also repeatedly acknowledged that it understands many parents cannot afford to keep their children out of school.”
There will however, be law enforcement present at the schools across the LAUSD, for the children who do show up.
“The district’s 863 campuses are spread across 710 square miles and 26 cities in L.A. County. Chances are most people in the area will see a picket line at a campus or come across bands of teachers and union supporters dressed in red. A police presence should also be visible,” according the the LA Times.”
School administrators, school police, and even bus drivers will be reporting for work on the day(s) of the strike, and the district has hired about 400 substitutes and 2,000 district staff with teaching credentials to take the place of 31,000 teachers involved in the strike.
Other organizations have even come out to help the students who will not be attending school.
LA Times reports, “The Los Angeles Zoo will give LAUSD students free admission on strike days, and museums around the city, including the Natural History Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the La Brea Tar Pits, also will not charge them admission.”
Let’s support our fellow teachers and wear red!
