DPS is one of Denver's largest employers, boasting 207 schools and about 90,000 students. Administrators plan to have schools open for at least the first few days of the strike. They prepared lesson plans and secured substitutes, but if the strike lingers on, administrators might run out of substitutes and fill-ins.
East High School students told the Coloradoan that substitutes gave them packets to fill out today, adding that "many" students walked out of the school during the strike.
Though reporters weren't allowed inside schools Monday, videos shared widely by East High School students showed students crowding the hallways, singing, shouting and dancing while school was in session.
1:10 a.m. — A total of 2,169 teachers called out sick on Monday as of 11 a.m., according to DPS spokesman Will Jones. That would be about half of the 4,329 teachers in the district, according to its website. The district is supposed to provide more information about the staffing levels at an 11:30 a.m. news conference, which Denver7 plans to stream live.
There are approximately 5,000 pre-school children not in early childhood care Monday because the district did not have the staffing to keep those classes open.
House Majority Leader Alec Garnett, D-Denver, told the Associated Press that he believes the sides are “super close” to a deal and said that districts have to do a better job of putting their dollars toward classrooms and not administration.
10:50 a.m. — We are hearing from a few students across the district, many of whom are supporting the teachers, as well as some politicians from Colorado and across the country.
"I think the people who are genuinely educated as to what's going on definitely causes a lot of support and respect toward these teachers and the amount of effort that they put in," said East High School student Cali Sherer.
Congressman Jason Crow, D-Aurora, tweeted his support to the teachers despite not representing Denver: "Proud to stand in solidarity with Colorado teachers. Our teachers do so much for our kids and community. They deserve to be paid a fair wage and afford to live where they work. Let's give our kids & teachers the schools they deserve.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also tweeted his support for Denver teachers.
“I stand with the Denver teachers. Public education is fundamental to any functioning democratic society, and teaching is one of its most valuable and indispensable professions. We need to treat educators with respect and dignity. #DenverTeacherStrike,” he wrote.
10:44 a.m. — Video from students at East High School shows kids leaving their classes and filling the hallway this morning as teachers across the district went on strike.
10:41 a.m. — A few parents of kids in early childhood education emailed with Denver7 about their situations trying to handle childcare with no early childhood classes taking place during the strike.
“I work for a federal office and of course we just got back in a couple weeks ago. I am under a contracting company and was able to work at home and get paid, so I was not badly impacted,” said Casey Muirhead, a federal employee from the metro area with a 4-year-old son.
“Things have been crazy busy as all the agencies we work with try to catch up however, and yes we’ll need to keep our 4-year-old son this week. My husband and I both discussed with our employers to work from home so that we can tag team keeping up with our responsibilities and caring for our son properly. I may also need to take him in to work with me. Right after discussing with my boss, I was asked to be the lead on a project, and probably have a series of meetings next week. Overall it is stressful, but we have the means to do what needs to be done.”
Muirhead said there is a daycare spot available at her daughter’s daycare facility but she worried about those who didn’t have such options or have family nearby.
“If something comes up, we do have daycare spot availability at our daughter’s daycare for a couple of days, but we hope to avoid the cost,” she said. “I worry about other who do not have these options! We have no family here, but the class families are working together to fill in for anyone with important appointments.”
But she said that she and her family were “very supportive” of the teachers’ right to strike and said they were “trying to do our part to hold up our corner and fill in as best we can.”
Heather Lee said she felt that despite the strike declaration being made two weeks ago, the last-minute discussions made the strike feel “last-minute.”
“They could have given us weeks rather than days to come up with a plan,” she offered.
9:20 a.m. — Teachers started to march from West High School toward Speer and Colfax.
8:03 a.m. — A large group of students at South High School walked out of classrooms to show support for the teachers on strike. Many of them joined to picket.
6:40 a.m. — Two members of Denver Classroom Teachers Association (DCTA) — Chief Spokesperson and Lead Negotiator Rob Gould and President Henry Roman — met with media Monday morning to answer questions about the DPS teacher strike, which officially starts at 7 a.m. The men said DPS had given the teachers permission to strike on the South High School property, but took it back last-minute.
“Unfortunately, after 15 months of bargaining, the district — they have been unable to listen and they have been unwilling to listen," Gould said. "So, we’re hoping they come to the table tomorrow ready to listen so we can get back to work because our teachers want to be in the classrooms with their kids.”
DPS has a budget of more than $1 billion and the DCTA is asking for a fraction of a percentage to close the gap for negotiations, Roman said. He said both sides will use this this time as a cooling period to gather their thoughts for the next meeting, which is scheduled for sometime Tuesday. The time has not been announced yet.
“We think it’s important that DPS sees and knows and understands what it’s like not to have teachers in the classrooms every day because they need us," Gould said. They need our labor, they need our minds, they need our talents to really make it happen for kids... It’s chilly, but it’s a beautiful Colorado day. Good day to stand up for Denver students.”
Watch the press conference below.
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