Oakland parents support teachers' demands, worry kids are falling behind
OAKLAND -- The second day of a strike by Oakland Unified School District teachers drew to a close Friday with no end of the walkout in sight.
While the teachers are fighting for more pay, support and better facilities, students missed another day of learning.
This is the second strike by Oakland teachers in the last four years. Factor in the lengthy COVID-19 lockdown and some of these kids have missed out on a lot of school. Many families support the teachers but say the young people are suffering.
RELATED: Oakland teachers walk picket lines during 2nd day of strike
"At this point, I'm just trying to figure out the next day," said Rebecca Carpenter mother of a 4th grader. Luckily she works from home so she was able to take care of her son but she wishes he was back in class.
"It's a detriment to the kids, right? They need to be in school," she said.
Carpenter supports the teachers and feels they should be paid more for the work they do.
The loss of learning, though, is a big concern.
"The pandemic and not being in school. I feel like the kids have already suffered a lot by not being in class. Not being prepared with materials to send the kids home with -- any of those are really challenging," Carpenter said.
It's not only the parents feeling anxious.
"It's been a pretty big change because we never know what's going to happen," Carpenter's son Darby said.
Rebecca Carpenter says it's been difficult to find concise information on the status of the strike and how the kids will make up this time away from school. She says she's been getting conflicting updates from the school district and the teachers union.
"That's frustrating because I don't know who to believe. I'm sure the truth is somewhere in the middle but it's challenging to thread that needle with all the different communication," she said.
The Oakland Unified School District says it has offered the teachers an unprecedented raise of 22 percent but that leaves very little left to address other issues.
The most recent previous strike in Oakland lasted seven days.
