Hundreds of educators, parents and students joined a rally Nov. 1. 2023 at Roosevelt High School in Portland, Oregon, to support striking teachers who want better pay, smaller class sizes and more planning time among other demands. (Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle)
That’s quite the title. And you might look at it and say it’s untrue. Most recently teachers in Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon, struck, but that’s not the commonwealth. But the fact is, teachers are on strike here in Kentucky. And please make no mistake about it, teachers are on a wage strike.
What’s different about this strike? This strike of both early career and veteran educators has no picket line. But nearly 25% of the educators in the commonwealth left their positions after the 2022-23 school year, according to data from the Kentucky Department of Education and reported by Louisville Public Media.
While that number includes classroom teachers who leave for administration positions, it also includes those who have left the profession altogether. What is clear, nevertheless, is that teachers are striking by leaving the classroom for better pay.