Seattle superintendent: 'tremendous progress' to end strike

SEATTLE (AP) — On the third day of a teacher strike in Seattle on Friday, picketing staff members at Hazel Wolf K-8 compared their stats. Some had logged 35,000 steps. Jessica Thomashow, a third-grade teacher, noted that she'd walked the equivalent of a half-marathon each day.

“The first day was rough,” said Carrie Widener, a special education teacher. “You can't imagine what it does to your body to walk up and down the sidewalk for eight hours. But your body adjusts, and we feel strongly about what we're doing."

The strike — over issues that include class size, support for special education students and those who are learning English, and pay — has delayed the start of school since Wednesday for some 49,000 students.

But Superintendent Brent Jones said in a video message to families Friday that Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle Education Association had made “tremendous progress” toward ending it. The sides were prepared to bargain through the weekend, and a decision on whether to begin classes Monday was expected over the weekend.

“We agree on the ‘what,’ the fundamentals: adequate support, safe environments and high quality instruction,” Jones said. “We want the same things. Our ongoing negotiations are about how we achieve that support, safety and quality.”

Districts around the country have faced labor challenges as the pandemic put extraordinary stress on teachers and students alike. An infusion of federal stimulus money has helped stabilize school district budgets, and teachers unions have sought to improve pay, resources and working conditions after a difficult few years.

Many districts, though, have fretted about using short-term funding to pay for long-term costs, such as increased salaries.

In Seattle, teachers have seen healthy raises since their last...