The Latest on the Denver teachers strike (all times local): 6:45 a.m. Denver Public Schools and teachers have reached a deal to end their three-day strike that includes raising pay by up to 11 percent, with built-in cost-of-living increases and more opportunities for future salary hikes. The deal was announced the deal Thursday morning after marathon negotiations and encouraged teachers to return to their classrooms. It still must be ratified by the full union membership. More than half the district's teachers went on strike Monday after negotiations over pay broke down. A key sticking point was a teachers demand that the system rely less on bonuses for educators in high-poverty and high-priority schools. The union says that question will now be studied. The district sees bonuses as key to boosting the academic performance of poor and minority students. The strike was the latest action in a wave of teacher activism since last spring, when teachers walked off the job from Arizona to West Virginia. —This version corrects the time to 6:45 a.m., not 7:45 a.m. ___ 11:05 p.m. Denver teachers are set to extend their strike into a third day after negotiations with district leaders ended Tuesday night without a deal. Tuesday's talks came a day after more than half of the city's teachers walked off the job amid a pay dispute. The negotiations, which are set to resume Wednesday, began with discussions over changing Denver's pay system to more closely resemble those in other districts that make it easier for teachers to advance in pay based on experience, education and training. The teachers are following the lead of educators across the country by donning red amid strikes and protests for better pay and working conditions. On Tuesday, all schools remained open and staffed by administrators, substitutes and teachers not participating in the strike. At the start of the talks, superintendent Susana Cordova acknowledged that students were not getting the kind of instruction they normally would and said she was committed to reaching a deal to end the strike.<doc-sep>DPS and DCTA reached an agreement to end the strike early Thursday morning. The full union must ratify the deal. DENVER — 6:30 a.m. Feb 14. - The latest The union and district signed off on a tentative agreement and teachers are free to return to the classroom Thursday if they choose. The agreement must still be ratified by the full union. Go here for the latest updates 5:45 a.m. Feb 14. - The union finished presenting its counteroffer to the district. It appeared that both sides were in agreement. "There's been a lot of compromise on both of our parts to get us to where we are this close to being able to sign on the dotted line," said Denver Public School District Superintendent Susana Cordova. District officials left the room to look over the deal one more time. Union members stayed there waiting for the district to return. 5:30 a.m. Feb 14. District officials and union members just returned from caucus. Both sides are back in the room where the union is going over its counteroffer with the district. The union says it wants to continue to talk about issues regarding SSPs. (specialized service providers) They'd also like the deal to go through 2022. The lead union negotiator says they're in agreement on distinguished schools. Rob Gould said they have a salary schedule, if you accept it, "please accept it". The comment was meant with laughter from those in the room. 5 a.m. Feb. 14. The Denver teachers union and school district officials are still at the Denver Public Central Library where they continue to negotiate. They have been at the library since 10 a.m. Wednesday morning when a second day of negotiations began. It is unclear at this time what this means for schools later this morning or whether teachers will be back out on picket lines. Discussions to end Denver’s first teacher strike in 25 years will continue into Thursday after the Denver Classroom Teachers Association and Denver Public Schools were again unable to strike a deal. For the second night in a row, both sides negotiated late into the night in the basement of Denver Central Library. The tone of Wednesday’s discussion, however, was lighter than it had been, with occasional jokes and both sides each other each time a new proposal was introduced. Both DCTA and DPS also agreed that significant progress was made during Wednesdays’ negotiations. The district made an offer for more money in base pay, along with fewer credits for teachers to get to the next salary level, and more predictability overall when it comes salaries.<doc-sep>At least 2,600 educators across the Denver Public Schools system left their classrooms Monday to demand better pay, chanting and picketing outside schools and rallying at the state Capitol as the city’s first teachers strike in 25 years unfolded. Denver’s 160 schools remained open despite more than half the district’s teachers walking out, and an as-yet-untold number of student absences. Some of those who did go to class reported disorder in their schools and dissatisfaction with the quality of work they encountered. Denver teachers strike photos The Denver Post wants to see your photos of the strike from rallies, organizing sessions and inside schools and classrooms. If you’re willing to let the Post use and publish your photos, submit a photo of the Denver teacher strike here. All DPS schools will be open on Tuesday as well, said Anna Alejo, a schools spokeswoman. The first strike by Denver teachers since 1994 — the exact number of participants remained in dispute — follows 15 months of negotiations over wages and an incentive pay structure that educators have said complicates their ability to plan for the future. “We’re just asking for a predictable, fair living wage,” said Aimee Baker, a teacher at East High School and 12-year veteran of DPS who joined the walkout Monday. The strike will continue Tuesday, with one key difference: representatives from DPS and the Denver Classroom Teachers Association will return to the bargaining table for the first time since Saturday night, when the union abruptly called off contract talks. “We felt like we had to use the last tool in our tool chest to get them to listen,” Rob Gould, the union’s lead negotiator, said of the strike at a morning news conference outside South High School. “…We think it’s important that DPS sees and knows and understands what it’s like not to have teachers in the classroom.” After touring schools staffed by substitutes and teachers who crossed the picket lines, DPS Superintendent Susana Cordova announced the district and union will resume bargaining at 10 a.m. Tuesday. “It’s a problem for our kids not to have their teachers in class,” she said, “so I want to get this done now. I’m very happy that we will be back at the table. We were ready to negotiate yesterday.” The union and school district have negotiated to a point where the two sides’ proposed starting salaries are now the same. But DPS’s latest offer on Saturday — which cut additional central-office staff in an effort to free up more money for teachers — increased the annual incentives for teachers working in Denver’s high-poverty schools to $3,000 from $2,500. Those incentives have been a particular sticking point for Denver’s teachers, who have said they’d rather see that money put into base pay — and that increase in the district’s latest proposal is what led the union to walk out Saturday night. Dispute over strike participation One area where the teachers union and school district failed to agree on Monday was the number of educators participating strike. DPS officials announced that 2,631 of the 4,725 teachers working in non-charter schools — the district’s charter schools are not affected by the strike — did not report to school Monday. That’s 56 percent of non-charter teachers. The Denver teachers union countered that its own headcounts and sign-in sheets showed 3,769 teachers and special service providers walked picket lines on Monday. District representatives acknowledged their 2,631 figure did not include those service providers — but DPS did not release a total number that did. DPS does not employ enough service providers to account for the 1,138 difference between the two sides’ participation figures. To make up for striking teachers, DPS on Monday said it had enlisted approximately 400 substitutes and used 1,400 central-office staff in city classrooms. Student attendance figures for Monday won’t be released until Tuesday. But signs point to depressed turnout, with the number of students who rode the bus Monday morning being about half the usual number. The district also reported that it served more than 10,000 fewer breakfasts than normal. DPS preschool classes have canceled for the duration of the strike because the district doesn’t have sufficient licensed support staff. That cancellation affected 4,714 students. Chants, signs and marchers Across Denver, teachers and their supporters gathered outside schools, marching with hand-crafted signs as they demanded better wages from the district. Not surprisingly, the city’s larger high schools drew bigger crowds than some of the smaller middle and elementary schools. Kimberly Beckeman, a ceramics teacher at South High School, was among the throng of teachers picketing outside that school early Monday morning. “I hope my students see me out here standing up for what’s right,” she said. Beckerman said she’s considered leaving the district for better pay and wants her students to have quality teachers. RELATED: Denver teacher strike: What you need to know about the planned walkout Emma Hoeschler, 17, is a junior at South High who came out to picket with her teachers. “I think our teachers are such great influences on our lives,” she said. “They deserve to be paid fairly.” The crowd outside South High even included a canine protester: a dog named Ollie wrapped in a sign that said, “Hey DPS, throw us a BONE.” The dog’s owner, Ryan Marini, has worked for DPS for 17 years, and said his wife, also an educator, left the Denver district for the Cherry Creek School District. “I’ve seen so many good teachers leave,” Marini said. “That’s why I’m here.” At East High School, just off Colfax Avenue, a large crowd of teachers paced the sidewalk, with one using a bullhorn to lead chants of “Hey, hey DPS, time to clean this filthy mess.” Kent Yamazaki, a science teacher at East High, has been with the district for more than 22 years. He said he’s at the end of his career but is striking for his colleagues who can barely afford rent and have to make tough decisions about adding to their families. RELATED: LIVE: Denver teachers strike updates At William (Bill) Roberts Elementary School on the east side of Denver, a crowd of about 50 people marched outside the school carrying signs with slogans such as “I only got into teaching for the $$$$! — Said NO teacher EVER.” Parents at the school brought doughnuts and coffee for the teachers as they dropped their students off at the school. Students hugged their teachers as they crossed the picket line to go to class. Amanda Phillips said she had told her two children who attend the elementary school that Monday would be different and that there would be a protest outside the school. She wanted them to know their teachers are mad at the district, not their students. “I told them, ‘You guys didn’t do anything wrong,’ ” she said. “‘Your teachers love you.’ ” An even smaller crowd was assembling outside Denver Discovery School, where about nine teachers gathered with signs, and one parent brought breakfast for them. One of their signs read: “We work hard for the money, so you better pay us NOW!” Melea Mayen, a Denver Discovery teacher, said she walked out of her classroom last year when she was teaching in North Carolina. “Even though I get paid more here, the cost of living is triple what it was there,” she said. A group of hundreds of teachers and students from West High School and other district campuses marched along Speer Boulevard and Colfax Avenue on Monday morning. While the group received dozens of supportive honks and cheers, at least one driver was unhappy with the striking teachers. “Get back to work!” a man yelled from his car. “We want to!” a teacher yelled back.<doc-sep>
The Latest on the Denver teacher strike (all times local): 3:30 p.m. The head of the National Education Association, the country's largest teachers union, is telling striking Denver teachers they will prevail in their fight for better pay. Lily Eskelsen Garcia told several thousand rallying teachers and supporters at the state Capitol that theirs is the latest in a struggle that's included teacher actions in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and, most recently, Los Angeles. Denver teachers went on strike Monday to demand a better base pay system with less emphasis on frequently confusing bonuses. The superintendent of Denver schools says talks over a pay dispute that led to a teacher strike will resume Tuesday. ___ 12:15 p.m. The superintendent of Denver schools says talks over a pay dispute that led to a teacher strike will resume Tuesday. Susana Cordova said she saw a range of effects at schools when teachers went on strike Monday. Schools remained open Monday and district officials have said administrators and substitute teachers will staff them. Cordova said students at schools she visited were working in classrooms, overseen by adults. She acknowledged reports of students dancing and chanting in the hallways of one high school before walking out. She said district officials reported that the school was calm by early afternoon. Cordova says the district will review that plan for individual schools each day. She says she is hopeful the district and teachers union can come to an agreement quickly. __ 11:05 a.m. Denver teachers are getting public support as they begin a strike for higher pay that is less reliant on bonuses. After picketing outside schools Monday, hundreds of teachers joined members of other unions and at least some students for a march that took them down busy streets and past City Hall. Police held traffic as the group crossed intersections. Many drivers honked in support and used their cellphones to capture the moment. Onlookers also watched from nearby offices or the sidewalk. According to the district, more than 2,100 of about 4,000 teachers had called in absent Monday. Schools remained open and district officials have said administrators and substitute teachers will staff them. Classes for 5,000 preschool children have been canceled. __ 10:52 a.m. Denver school officials say more than 2,100 teachers have called in absent as educators went on strike. According to district data, that's about half of the teachers employed. Teachers began picketing Monday before the start of the school day after failing to reach a deal with administrators on pay. Students have joined in the protests outside several schools. The Denver walkout joins a wave of teacher activism in the U.S. since last spring, when teachers walked off the job in West Virginia. Last month, Los Angeles teachers walked out for six days. Denver schools remained open Monday and district officials have said administrators and substitute teachers will staff them. Classes for 5,000 preschool children were canceled. __ 10:10 a.m. A leading Colorado lawmaker says Denver's teachers strike underscores the need to boost funding of public schools across the state. House Majority Leader Alec Garnett said Monday lawmakers must find a way to fix conflicting laws that restrict state K-12 spending by hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The Democrat also says school districts must do a better job at ensuring tax dollars go to the classroom and not administrative overhead. Denver teachers went on strike Monday after failing to reach a deal with administrators on pay. Garnett says he met with both sides over the weekend and that they were "super-close" to a deal. __ 7:45 a.m. Denver teachers have gone on strike after failing to reach a deal with administrators on pay. Teachers started the strike Monday. The school district says schools will remain open during the strike and will be staffed by administrators and substitute teachers. However, the district has canceled classes for 5,000 pre-school children because it doesn't have the staff to take care of them. It's the latest action in a wave of teacher activism since last spring, when teachers walked off the job in West Virginia. ___ 7 a.m. Denver teachers say they will strike Monday after failing to win an agreement on pay. Both sides met Saturday in a final attempt to reach a new contract after over a year of negotiations. They are expected to sit down at the bargaining table again Tuesday. Teachers plan to picket schools around the city starting Monday.