Some NC teachers won’t show up at school on Jan. 7. Why they plan to walk out.

A new teachers group is organizing a statewide teacher walkout on Jan. 7 to protest for better working conditions.

Leaders of NC Teachers in Action say they’ve already gotten commitments from teachers from across the state to participate in protests on Jan. 7 instead of reporting to work at school. They’re trying to build on the momentum from an anonymous viral social media post that resulted in some teachers calling out of work on Nov. 7 and Nov. 10.

“Teachers are tired of being walked all over,” Brandy Sanders, a Wake County teacher and a leader of NC Teachers in Action, said in an interview with The News & Observer. “It’s time that we stand up for ourselves.”

The group says it’s gotten the most support for walkouts in Wake County. This includes, so far, teachers at 29 Wake schools agreeing to hold public protest at 10 intersections on Jan. 7.

“I think we are definitely on a great track here in Wake County,” Sanders said. “I anticipate that growing more here. As Wake County grows in participation, I foresee other large counties starting to join in.”

The Wake County school system did not respond to The N&O’s request for comment on the potential walkouts. Back in November, some Wake schools had to call in substitute teachers, combine classes and have students spend time in the auditorium or gym.

Walkout not organized by NCAE

No one has publicly taken credit for the original social media post that caused pockets of teachers to walk out in November. But it inspired some teachers to form NC Teachers in Action.

NC Teachers in Action is not affiliated with the North Carolina Association of Educators or any other teacher group in the state. None of the other teacher organizations are organizing or participating in the Jan. 7 walkout.

“This is teachers coming together because we’re that upset and that frustrated with the way things are,” Caitlyn Dowell, a Wake County teacher and a leader in NC Teachers in Action, said in an interview. “ This is not attached to any union. This is teachers.”

NCAE did not respond to The N&O’s request for comment. NCAE was the organizer behind the mass teacher protests that shut down schools across the state and brought thousands of educators to Raleigh in May 2018 and May 2019.

Group says NC teachers are ‘struggling’

NC Teachers in Action lists several actions it wants the state to take as reasons for why it feels a walkout is needed, including:

• Restore longevity pay, a benefit the state used to provide to reward teachers for their years of service.
• Unfreeze step increases. Teachers with 16 to 24 years of experience don’t get an automatic annual pay raise under the state’s salary schedule.
• Restore master’s pay, a benefit the state used to pay that boosted teacher salaries by 10% a year.
• Restore retiree health coverage. State employees and teachers hired after Jan. 1, 2021, don’t get health benefits from the state when they retire.
• Fully fund the Leandro plan, a multibillion-dollar plan to increase school funding to try to provide every student with highly qualified teachers and principals.
• Cap health insurance premiums at a time when State Health Plan costs are rising.

The potential walkouts come at a time when North Carolina ranks 43rd in the nation in average teacher pay and 39th in beginning teacher pay, according to the National Education Association.

The Education Law Center recently ranked North Carolina at the bottom nationally in state funding for schools.

Jennilee Lloyd, a Wake County teacher and a leader in NC Teachers in Action, says she’s talked with teachers who have declared bankruptcy, work second and third jobs, go to food banks and delayed starting families due to low pay.

“I feel like this is a cause worthy of fighting,” Lloyd said in an interview with The N&O. “It’s not just there’s 90,000 of us and more than that. But there are people that are very, very clearly struggling. And I’ve talked to so many of them, and I’ve seen them, and you feel the pain, and it’s not OK.”

The offices of Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall did not respond to requests for comment The N&O.

Getting attention of state lawmakers

NC Teachers in Action is planning additional protests on Feb. 7, March 7 and April 7. The group picked the 7th of the month because state lawmakers are scheduled to reconvene in Raleigh on April 7.

The Feb. 7 and March 7 dates are both Saturdays, so group leaders say they hope parents and other community members will be able to join in the protests. But Jan. 7 and April 7 are weekdays when schools are scheduled to be in session.

“This is not us trying to disrupt the school day and not have kids be in school,” Dowell said. “That is not our intention. Unfortunately, it’s the only way sometimes to get attention, especially from legislators.”

Teachers would participate by calling out sick or using personal time.

“We value our downtime more than any other profession,” Sanders said. “I feel like that’s the last thing that we want to burn our leave on. But we’re willing to do it at this point.”

Could schools close Jan. 7?

It’s not clear yet how many teachers will call out of work on Jan. 7. But if enough do at a school, it could potentially trigger closure.

Lloyd said she’s encouraging teachers to talk with school social workers, churches and nonprofit groups to help with things like meals for students in case some schools do close.

“If we’re going to take action, like the last thing we want to do is really leave our kids,” Lloyd said. “And so what can we do to provide that need, even if we’re not there at school, even if school gets shut down?”

Sanders said her school’s PTA is onboard with the teacher walkout even though it will have an impact on families.

“The PTA is extremely supportive of what we are doing,” Sanders said. “They see that our schools are crumbling around us. They say that they love the educators in the building, but they definitely see that there is a huge problem.”