09/02/2022
We at 442 support Kent educators demanding support for Kent students.
The demands that Kent Education Association (KEA) is negotiating with the Kent School District(KSD) are the following:
Better wages
Manageable class sizes
Manageable caseloads for staff working with English learners and working with students receiving special education
More support for mental health services for students.
A couple of beliefs that 442 holds is in the investment in youth and students and in the investment of Black, Indigenous and communities of color in Kent. The Kent School District has about 25,000 students enrolled and about 70% of those students are students of color and about 25-30% are English learners.
We are also concerned about the District’s lack of concern for the health and safety of teachers, staff, and students. Several schools in the district are actively under construction, due to roofing projects not being completed in time for the school year. Heavy duty machinery is actively being used, and debris is still being thrown off roofs. There are parts of the school people cannot access due to safety concerns, and yet students, teachers, and staff were expected to return to these schools while construction was still going on. Additionally while the teachers have been on strike, the district has been more focused on trying to shut down the strike, rather than listening to teachers, or addressing the clear need of mental health support for our students, or providing food for students during the strike. There is a clear lack of care from District leadership for our communities.
Ways to support are below:
Join strikers at any school during their regular school hours
Support strikers with sharing leaflets in school neighborhoods, especially at the elementary schools
Submit an email following this link: Washington Education Association (washingtonea.org) or submit an independent email or public comment to the Kent School district board
Emails of the KSD board are:
Awale Farah // [email protected]
Joe Bento // [email protected]
Leslie Hamada // [email protected]
Israel Vela // [email protected]
Leslie Hamada // [email protected]
Put pressure on the District’s negotiating attorney, Jeff Fraizer, to support the demands of the teachers
Jeff Fraizer: [email protected]
Re-share this post and tag the Kent School District, put social media pressure on the District!
Kent School District IG: