Oakland parents lead ‘strike schools’ in homes as negotiations continue
Inside Alicia Johnson’s Berkeley home Wednesday, a handful of kindergartners finished their morning math activity at the dining table and dashed downstairs to a playroom filled with a meandering train track, a rubber T. rex, costumes and a toy kitchen.
A few older kids played on a Nintendo Wii upstairs after finishing their own morning lesson. There were 13 children in all.
It’s the new norm at Johnson’s “strike school,” a safe haven nestled in the Hiller Highlands neighborhood where parents drop their kids off before heading to work, unwilling to cross the picket line of educators that has all but shut down Oakland schools for one week.
Johnson, 38, is in a group of parents across the Oakland Unified School District who have stepped up as impromptu caretakers and teachers during the strike, opening up their homes to other school kids as a show of solidarity to teachers asking for better wages and more resources.
The district upped its offer Wednesday to an 8 percent raise plus a 2 percent bonus. Teachers are seeking a 12-percent raise, among other demands, and the Oakland Education Association did not comment immediately on the new proposal.
“It helps put parents’ mind at ease,” said Johnson, whose two kids attend Kaiser Elementary School. “They don’t have to stress, they don’t have to worry about missing work, not being paid. And I know they would do it for me if I had an emergency and needed help, too.”
Many of these at-home schools— dubbed “solidarity schools” by organizers and parents — have popped up across the district, though numbers weren’t available districtwide. Parents have established more than 40 solidarity schools at Melrose Leadership Academy alone, according to the organization Bay Rising, which has helped coordinate many of the schools.
Parents, high school students and young kids held a solidarity school protest in downtown Oakland Wednesday, calling on state representatives to support the teachers’ union.
Oakland schools have remained open during the labor action, with substitute teachers and administrators on duty. But school CONTINUE READING: Oakland parents lead ‘strike schools’ in homes as negotiations continue - SFGate
