We, parents of PPS students, call on the Portland Association of Teachers to pause its strike and reopen our schools while their bargaining team continues negotiating with Portland Public Schools to find compromises that address PAT's concerns within the district's limited resources.

Portland children have suffered through more than two weeks of a strike while PAT and PPS remain far apart on a number of topics. The bargaining updates from both sides show slow movement, with only a few proposals being exchanged each day. Our students cannot wait any longer while adults work through these complex issues. Many are still struggling to catch up to where they were academically prior to pandemic school closures, and recent reports show chronic absenteeism at alarmingly high and growing rates. Friendships and social experiences are once again suffering. Students who have worked hard on art, band, choir and theater productions are at risk of having them permanently canceled.  

Children depend on the stability of open schools for a variety of needs, including meals and mental health support. And we know from recent data that the historically underserved and economically disadvantaged students will suffer the most harm from a prolonged closure. Families are breaking under the pressure: parents are unable to work or, just the opposite, are working but leaving kids of all ages alone at home to fend for themselves.  

Our kids and families cannot afford this strike. It is time to find a new approach.  We ask PAT to pause its strike, return to the classroom and teach again while the bargaining teams continue to work on the contract. Compromise is necessary. Reopening our schools now is essential. Our students cannot wait any longer.