Despite the pouring rain, hundreds of people attended Portland Association of Teachers rally held at Roosevelt High School in Portland, Ore., Nov. 1, 2023.
Kristyna Wentz-Graff / OPB
Teachers in the Portland Public Schools district have been on strike since Wednesday. And while administrative offices are open, schools are closed and academic instruction has stopped for nearly 50,000 students.
While some students may regard it as a welcome break from classes, for others the new-found free time presents a challenge: figuring out how to spend the day.
“Just having this big void of time that I had nothing planned to fill it, it’s been hard to find things to do,” Cassidy Goodwin, a sophomore at Ida B. Wells High School, said.
This strike is the first ever in the district’s history, fueled by contentious negotiations between the district and teacher union that have been going on for months.
It’s unclear when the strike will end. A mediator called PPS and the Portland Association of Teachers back to the bargaining table on Friday. The uncertainty on when it may be resolved has created worry for some students like Goodwin, who is currently taking Advanced Placement physics and has an exam scheduled in the subject at the end of the year.
“We do have a set test date for the AP exam, and that’s not going to change regardless of a strike,” she said.
Winnie Keane is a sophomore at Grant High School. She compared her experience this week to the uncertainty surrounding the last time classes were canceled throughout the district, which was more than three years ago during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It feels less like a big scary thing happening. It feels more like the strike makes me hopeful,” Keane said. “I see all these teachers who care so much about their students that they’re willing to do this big thing.”
Keane and Goodwin said that confusion and misinformation about the strike has spread amongst their classmates.
“It was a lot of conflicting information,” Keane said. “A lot of the information I got didn’t even come directly from teachers but was (from) a student.’”
They also had “mixed reactions” about the impact of the strike for each of them and their classmates. According to Keane and Goodwin, some of their classmates are thankful for a break and the opportunity to catch up on any work they have. Seniors, however, expressed worry about the potential impact this could have on graduation and completing college applications, depending on how long the strike lasts.
“It’s a hard situation and I don’t think a strike was anyone’s first option,” Goodwin said.
Still, Goodwin recognizes the historic nature of this moment.
“Having to hear teachers talk about how this time is going to impact them, I think has really put into perspective for the students that this is a real thing that’s happening. This is important and this is going to have a big impact on a lot of people,” Goodwin said.
Keane also said it’s an opportunity to remind teachers on the picket line they have the support of many students.
“There are more students on their side than they know. I think a lot of students have sympathy for teachers,” Keane said.
Cassidy Goodwin and Winnie Keane joined OPB’s “Think Out Loud” host Dave Miller. You can listen to the full conversation here:
