SEATTLE — Yellow school buses rolled through Seattle’s streets and noisy schoolchildren packed playgrounds again as thousands of students started the school year that had been delayed by a weeklong teachers strike
The walkout that began Sept. 9 was put on hold after the teachers union and Washington state’s largest school district reached a tentative contract agreement. The full union membership will vote on the deal Sunday.
Classes resumed Thursday for the city’s 53,000 public school students. Students greeted each other in playgrounds, while parents helped younger children find new classrooms. Plenty of people pulled out cameras to snap first-day school selfies.
The tentative deal gives teachers a 9.5 percent pay raise over three years, guaranteed 30-minute recesses for elementary students and more teacher input over standardized tests.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.