Charter schools show support for teacher walkout

Thousands of Arizona educators are walking off the job Thursday morning to protest their low pay, untenable working conditions and the state’s long-standing refusal to do what is necessary to adequately fund public schools while offering tax cuts to corporations.

Last week, the Arizona Education Association told members about a 1971 opinion by Arizona Attorney General Gary Nelson, in which he said strikes by public employees are forbidden.

Which Pikes Peak region school districts have canceled classes as a result?

Tens of thousands of teachers will descend on the Arizona state Capitol for an unprecedented job action that will close schools for a majority of the state’s public school students, part of an educator uprising that’s now bubbled up in Colorado. National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen García visited Phoenix on Wednesday to support the walkout, and said that the chaotic negotiations in Oklahoma and West Virginia revealed that there is no playbook for a red-state school strike.

One complication of strikes is that any day of school closure will have to be made up in order for students to complete 180 days of instruction, as mandated by state law.

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Colorado lawmakers from both parties have agreed to give schools their largest budget increase since the Great Recession. It comes as about half of all Colorado students will see their schools shuttered over two days as teachers take up the Arizona movement’s #RedforEd mantle.

“Our teachers’ voices deserve to be heard in the fight for fair and equitable state funding”, the letter reads.

In Colorado, teachers wearing #RedforEd T-shirts and toting signs reading “Make Education Great Again” and “Can You Hear Us Now” swarmed the state Capitol Denver.

Fiori said she went to public schools her entire life and didn’t notice the difference in education until she moved during her high school years from Cave Creek to Minnesota.

The state branch of the national union called for a 2.5% statewide tax on certain now-untaxed services, such as haircuts and legal services, that would raise $2.65 billion each year, according to a news release. “We need to reward you and compensate you for your skill and your experience and you commitment to supporting all of our kids”.

They’ve reached a breaking point.

“I wouldn’t be doing my due diligence if I didn’t tell them the possible consequences for their actions”, Douglas said. Popper’s creative writing class was recently cut, along with the school’s cooking, dance, film, and robotics programs. In the 2016-17 school year, Arizona teachers made $47,403, a almost 10 percent drop from the 2009-10 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Trujillo said the response he’s gotten from families has been mixed.

Joe Rauschenbach is a music teacher at Knoles Elementary.

Joe Thomas, president of the Arizona Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said that the starting salary for teachers in Arizona was about $35,000, which for many in the profession made paying off student loans or starting a family hard. Worse: Asbestos sometimes flakes off during leaks, causing classroom evacuations.

“We’ll have lunch for them when they show up”, he said. In her school of 1,600 students, Anderson says there are only 1.5 mental health professionals. We need to give you the support and resources so that you can support your kids’ learning.

“Enough is enough, and we simply can’t take it any longer”, Karvelis said a group of reporters.

Mesa Public Schools Superintendent Michael Cowan sent an email to teachers on Monday telling them that “a walkout could mean a loss of public support”, according to The Arizona Republic.

“I feel embarrassed having to ask my students to bring in Kleenex so I go to Costco and bring in boxes and boxes of Kleenex”, Guyer said. Baum says as other experienced teachers retire, this could lead to a big problem.