Students in three Massachusetts communities have been out of school for nearly two weeks as teachers remain on strike.
Melissa Wiley's 9-year-old son, Nazayah, is ready to get back to class in Beverly, but schools in the city are empty — as are schools in Gloucester and Marblehead. All three districts will remain closed Thursday.
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Teachers the communities are demanding better pay, benefits and paid parental leave. The strike is impacting some 10,000 students across the region.
Beverly and Gloucester have missed eight days of school, while Marblehead has missed seven. Parents on the North Shore like Wiley are worried about learning loss as negotiations drag into a third school week.
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"He's on an IEP at the school, so all his academics and stuff like that – he's falling behind," Wiley said. "It's just really difficult on these kids, and I would like to see them resolve this as soon as possible."
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Beverly and Gloucester are on Day 13 of the strikes, and Marblehead is on Day 9. The Beverly School Committee is considering making up some of those days during February or April vacation, while Gloucester is adding days on to the end of the school year. Instead of getting out on June 17, the last day of school in Gloucester is now June 30.
"It's so hard right now on our kids, it's so hard on parents," Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Wednesday. "I really strongly encourage both sides to work this out in each of the communities, and let's get these children back in school."
Since teacher strikes are illegal in Massachusetts, the unions continue to incur tens of thousands of dollars in fines each day the strike continues. When any of these strikes will end remains to be seen.
