Back to Class

Public school teachers in Los Angeles returned to classrooms on January 23. This was after a six-day strike. The strike ended when an agreement was reached. The agreement is between the Los Angeles Unified × unified BIGSHOTS/GETTY IMAGES brought together as one (adjective) All of the fourth-grade classes came together for the school olympics to compete as a unified team. School District and the union that represents its 35,000 teachers. The district has agreed to increase teacher salaries × salary THOMAS BARWICK/GETTY IMAGES the amount of money paid to an employee each year (noun) Stephanie asked her boss for an increase to her salary. and reduce class sizes. It will also put more nurses, librarians, and counselors in schools.

In 2018, there was a successful teachers’ strike in West Virginia. It inspired other strikes across the U.S. The Los Angeles strike is one of them.

Los Angeles schools stayed open during the strike. They were staffed by a small number of substitute teachers. Matias Garcia is a sixth grader. He spoke to the New York Times from his school. He said it was chaotic. “Nobody is listening, it’s loud, and we spent like an hour taking attendance,” he said.

Eric Garcetti is the mayor of Los Angeles. “For a city that embraced the idea that public education matters—that children matter, that teachers matter—today is a day full of good news,” he told reporters when the deal was announced on January 22.

Stop & Think! How are the key events of this article organized? Are they told in chronological order? Why do you think the writer chose to organize the story in this way?