My downtown Seattle place of worship this morning was about the last place I expected to hear about Shoreline Schools, yet there we were, featured prominently in the sermon.  (Well OK, it probably did help a bit that my minister and his family live in Shoreline)  What caught my minister’s attention was a conversation he had with his wife.  She reported that on the day of the strike, she drove by a group of educators and parents picketing on the corner and surprisingly, welled up with tears.  Why was she crying?  Because she understood what the strike was about.  “These educators were not striking over pay or benefits, they are striking over what they believe to be misguided administration priorities: choices that hurt kids.  And when teachers believe there is an injustice, they march.” 

Family Values

Perhaps this helps to explain why the strike has been so difficult to explain and understand.  In labor disputes we are more accustomed to the concrete issues of pay and working conditions.  Issues that embody heart, soul and faith do not readily come to mind when we envision folks walking the picket line.  Yet these things are exactly what this strike was about.  Nothing less than the soul of Shoreline Schools is at stake.

“We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs,” said Gloria Steinem.

Maybe this is where the disconnect exists between District officials, the school board, and Shoreline’s educator/parent community:  Finances are about more than “solvency” and “responsibility.”  Our financial choices reveal what we honestly care about the most.  Time and time again District officials have told us that for Shoreline Schools to be great again, we must be more like surrounding school districts in terms of finance and the priorities they reveal. Your teachers have responded loudly that while they understand the serious requirement of balancing the budget, they also demand creative solutions that prioritize our children. (Did you see parent Carrie Campbell’s piece in Saturday’s Seattle Times?)

And isn’t this what made Shoreline Schools great in the first place? Isn’t our focus on children a key reason why families seek boundary exceptions in order to get their kids into Shoreline’s schools and out of their local schools?

What Did The Strike Accomplish?

Since the day of the strike, I have been asked repeatedly: “What do you think the strike accomplished? Will District officials change the elementary thing?” 

I am not confident that positive changes will be made in the area of elementary staffing this year.  But I do know this:  The strike served to communicate what must be valued most if our schools are to be great.  Our mission must be about more than spreadsheets and budgets.  Our mission must be about our children.

District officials believe that such a mission statement is naive.   By staging a one-day strike, your children’s educators claimed that a focus on our children is not only the responsible and realistic thing; it is the essential thing.