WASHINGTON — Teachers across the District walked out of their buildings Thursday to fight for a new contract.
The Washington Teachers Union said it has been negotiating for a new contract the last three years with District of Columbia Public Schools.
Some members say, during that time, prospective hires have gone to suburban school districts where they can get better pay while teachers who stay in the District have become overworked.
“If you were in our school buildings seeing the teaching shortages, seeing the day-to-day we go through every day, you would be astonished that it’s taken this long to come to an agreement,” said DCPS teacher Daniel Riggs.
DCPS released a statement Thursday afternoon that said it was still working to come to an agreement that would benefit District teachers.
“For three years, DCPS and the WTU have been in good faith negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement for the district’s teachers. While collective bargaining agreement negotiations are confidential pursuant to DC code, we are proud of the offer we made that includes robust compensation increases for educators. We are grateful for the hard work of our employees, especially our teachers. I want very much for them to have the pay increases that they deserve as soon as possible. We continue to work diligently toward providing stability for our educators with a finalized contract.”
The Washington Teachers’ Union President Jacqueline Pogue Lyons then responded late Thursday that progress had been made by both sides on the issue, but still, no agreement had been reached.
“WTU teachers, parents and community came out today all across the city, demanding the respect that teachers and students deserve. We were at the bargaining table for 12 hours today, but we still have a lot of work to do to get what’s fair for teachers and good for students. We should be bargaining day and night, even weekends, to reach a tentative agreement. We need a contract that shows that the chancellor and mayor care about DCPS students and respect their educators. Our goal is to reach an agreement that goes a long way to stemming the massive teacher turnover problem that is plaguing our classrooms. It’s been more than three years since the last contract expired, and teachers are rightfully frustrated.”
Some parents joined the teachers’ protest outside Whittier Elementary, in Northwest DC, Thursday, with concerns some DCPS campuses are falling apart.
At Whittier, parents and teachers complained of faulty AC units, defective water fountains, and even parts of the building being inaccessible to students with disabilities.
“We had a young student who can’t get up the steps only because he has crutches,” said DCPS parent Alicia Bolton.
One DCPS grandparent, Kamau Anderson, said he once even decided to repair a filter system at Whittier himself.
“There have been work orders that have gone in where they haven’t been fixed,” he said.
DCPS sent a letter to parents at Whittier Elementary stating a modernization project at that school would kick off in 2024. The school district added the Department of General Services is working to address all maintenance requests at the school.