On November 1, 2023, Portland Public School teachers went on strike for the first time in district history. Over 4,000 teachers protested for mental health support, smaller classes, higher pay, and safer classrooms. 81 schools were closed and over 45,000 students lost instructional time. The strike lasted for three weeks, ending on November 26, when bargaining teams reached a tentative agreement which included class size caps, a cost of living increase, and more planning time for teachers.
Part of the agreement was to make up the 11 instructional days students missed. The days agreed upon were Dec. 18-22, Jan. 26, Feb. 19, April 8, and June 12-14, meaning students and teachers will miss the first half of their winter break and the first three days of summer vacation. Many of these days, especially the 18-22 of December and the dates in June, are times when PPS families and teachers take vacations. It’s almost guaranteed that a lot of students and teachers will be missing from school during that time.
Other options were available to make up the lost time, including extending the school day by 5-15 minutes, adding a longer day each week, or using Martin Luther King Jr. Day instead of a day into summer or winter break. In the end, however, they agreed to extend the year due to the argument that students wouldn’t get proper learning time if the day were extended by only 15 minutes.
This prolonged break was especially challenging for students in AP classes. Because the final test date didn’t change, they had to stay up-to-date on their assignments or quickly catch up when they returned to school.
November marks an important part of the school year, with parent-teacher conferences, report cards, and a new quarter. Because of the strike, parent-teacher conferences were canceled, and it was unclear whether they would be rescheduled. Ayesha Coning, Principal of Ida B. Wells High School confirmed that they would be held on January 3, 4, and 11th all virtual, and January 9th, which will be in-person conferences. All the virtual conferences are from 4:00-7:00 pm, and the in-person conference will be from 4:30-7:30. Parents and students can choose from a list of times and pick one that best fits their family schedule. “We wanted to have parent-teacher conferences before the end of the first semester,” said Ayesha Coning, principal of Ida B. Wells High School
As for report cards, Guadalupe Guerrero, Superintendent of the PPS Board of Education, told students and parents that grades should be expected by Friday, Dec. 8, giving teachers 2 weeks to finalize grades. Because of the extended break, some students had time to catch up on work they had missed.
One of the things PPS teachers gained from the strike was more planning time. This new schedule will start next year. The Portland Public Schools district agreed to pay teachers for an extra workday in the following years, (192 to 193 days) starting in the 2024-25 school year. According to Coning, as of right now, only teachers have to work the extra day, and it is unclear if students will need to come to school too. Teachers negotiated a 0.5% increase in pay to reflect the extra day, claiming that the district was asking educators to work that day for free. In the end, the teachers won the pay increase.
This new schedule will be something to adjust to, but it will ultimately be better for our PPS teachers and students.
