More than 200 educators gathered Saturday afternoon in Judkins Park to prepare for a strike that could delay the first day of classes at Seattle Public Schools.
Teachers, paraeducators and instructional aides organized, made signs and practiced picket lines and chants in the event the district doesn’t reach a tentative agreement with members of the Seattle Education Association by the end of Tuesday. SEA is the union representing about 6,000 SPS teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries, counselors and other staff.
At the park, educators stapled 6,000 red-and-white poster boards reading “On Strike!” to wooden handles, duct-taping the ends to prevent splinters. Then they loaded them into cars that would ultimately drive the signs to each of the 106 public schools in Seattle and the district’s headquarters in Sodo…