MARBLEHEAD — The students of Marblehead High School have decided to take action. On Thursday, Nov. 7, the students held a walk out to show their support for Marblehead faculty and staff.
Since March, the Marblehead Educations Association has been negotiating with the School Committee on higher wages, fair parental leave time, and safety protocols. Despite the many months negotiating there is yet to be a contract agreed upon by both parties. The faculty including education professionals have been without a contract for sixty-eight days and the custodians for one-hundred and twenty-eight days.
On Monday, Nov. 4, students of all grades banded together to create a video expressing their gratitude for their teachers. The students shared experiences regarding the extra mile these teachers go to in order to guide their students in the right direction. They also gave their opinions regarding the school’s treatment of teachers, “it seems like the school doesn’t care about them at all,” one student said.
The students also mention the potential for a strike throughout the video, that it would be detrimental to the schools. Students are concerned for their sports teams, if a strike were to occur they would become ineligible for playoffs and championship games.
At 12:45 p.m. on Thursday the students exited the building and took a lap around the property which lasted roughly fifteen minutes. Students wore red in solidarity with the MEA and even made signs, one said “#payourstaff” another said “pay my teachers.” There were also multiple chants throughout the walk where students said, “What do we want? Fair contracts! When do we want it? Now!”
School Committee Co-Chair Jenn Schaeffner commented on the walk out, “The school committee supports the student’s voice in sharing their thoughts and concerns regarding the teacher and staff negotiations.” Schaeffner further added, “We appreciate that they were able to do this in a respectful and peaceful way and we thank them for sharing their voice.”
The School Committee and the MEA will meet again on Tuesday Nov. 12 at 3:00 p.m. to continue negotiations.
