November 22nd, 2024

Strike Day 10

​Teachers and their supporters march south along Calapooia Street en route to the school district office on Seventh Avenue.

GAEA, GAPS tentatively agree
​on prep time, professional development​

Special delivery: 1,000 pencils.

  The Greater Albany Education Association and  Greater Albany Public Schools bargaining teams reached tentative agreement  on two more significant bargaining articles — prep time and professional development — early Friday morning.
   Here is part of the GAEA statement released after a long day of mediation that ended at 1 a.m. Friday:
   "We won a REAL guaranteed 30 hour cap on Professional Development to firmly protect our ability to spend time in Professional Learning Communities and spend invaluable time learning from our peers.  We will have a real voice in how the remaining time is used to best benefit our students and community!  We also won a REAL guarantee on the 6 of 8 block schedule for our High Schools.  It won’t start until fall of 2025, but it is guaranteed not to change until the next contract after this one is ratified (2027 or 2028).  What is even more important than these serious improvements, is that the way has finally been cleared to tackle our highest priorities regarding educator 

---

Video: Pencil drop at Greater Albany Public Schools district office.

​recruitment, retention, and class size. By having these two articles agreed upon, we only have class size and our economic package to settle!"
   On Thursday, hundreds of striking teachers and supporters marched from Monteith Riverpark to the 
school district office, where they deposited 1,000 pencils at the front doors. That, according to organizers, symbolically represented the number of  signatures on a petition that started circulating Tuesday asking for members of the school board to resign.
  "Every pencil we left behind is a symbol of someone who is standing up for change. Each pencil represents a community member, a parent, or an educator demanding more from GAPS leaders — and more for Albany