LAUSD Strike Day 3: Teachers Deliver Demands to School Board President’s Home
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) teachers ended their third day of striking by taking their demands to the home of Monica Garcia.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) teachers ended their third day of striking by taking their demands to the home of the school board president, Monica Garcia, on Wednesday January 16.
Hundreds of LAUSD teachers, students, and teachers gathered at the Rose Hill Park in the El Sereno community to rally on the rainy afternoon. Jesenia Chavez, a kindergarten and first grade teacher at UCLA Community School, stood in the crowd wearing a rain poncho. “I want to call out Monica Garcia,” said Chavez. “Right now we are walking out and we want her to show support for us by voting to end the strike, by voting to fully fund our schools… This is an opportunity to save public education.”
Chavez is LA born and raised, and was once an LAUSD student herself. Lowering class sizes, one of the teachers strikes main objectives, is an issue Chavez experienced first hand when she was a student in the district. “In my high school, I was at a year round overcrowded school and that was really challenging. We had a huge drop out rate because we had a lot of students and a lack of resources,” said Chavez. Looking back in hindsight, she accredits her ability to attend college to her teachers that were able to spend time mentoring her after school. “And now as a teacher I feel like it’s also my role to instill that hope and possibility in my students and parents.”
Chants such as, “Whose schools? Our schools!” filled the air as the crowd prepared to bring the strike over to the home of the school board president a few blocks away from the park.
A sea of umbrellas filled the street in front of LAUSD school board president Monica Garcia’s house to deliver their demands on the very rainy night, while Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers stood directly in front of Garcia’s house.
Although the school board president wasn’t home at the time of the event, a police representative was present to take the letter of demands. The crowd of strikers chanted, “We’ll be back!” as they dispersed on to the rainy streets. The event concluded with no reported police violations.