Seattle teachers went back to work Wednesday to prepare for schools to open on Thursday after the Seattle Education Association and school district management
reached a tentative deal to end the teachers strike that delayed the scheduled start of the school year. The teachers were pushing for improved pay after six years without a cost of living increase, as well as for mandatory recess, equity teams in all schools, and limits on the influence of standardized testing.
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.
Knapp said teachers would get a 9.5 percent raise over three years. When cost-of-living raises from the state are included, that would mean a 14.3 percent pay increase over that period, Knapp said.
Teacher salaries in Seattle range now from about $44,000 to more than $86,000, depending on experience and education.
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.
A longer school day, of course, means that teachers will be working longer hours in exchange for their added pay. The deal will remain tentative until the union's members vote to ratify it; the vote will be held Sunday.