Students will return to the classroom Wednesday in Marblehead, Massachusetts, as officials announced a tentative agreement to end the teacher strike.
The Marblehead School Committee said late Tuesday afternoon that it had reached a deal with the Marblehead Education Association.
"Both the School Committee and the Association recognize the stress and hardship caused to our students and families during the school closures and we are committed to ensuring that the reopening of our schools will be a positive experience for our students and school community," the school committee said in a statement.
Students will report to class at the usual time on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, but will be released early.
"We look forward to welcoming our students back to school and to resuming the important work we are committed to doing," the school committee said.
At a press conference Tuesday, a union representative read a joint statement between the Marblehead Education Association and the Marblehead School Committee.
"In the spirit of the season, we are thankful to be returning to our students. And we are thankful for the incredible community support we witnessed these past few weeks for Marblehead educators and our public schools," he said.
He went on to say the contract "begins to correct systemic problems which have been decades in the making." He listed significant pay increases, safety issues and parental leave as areas where progress was made.
Marblehead was one of three North Shore towns in which teacher strikes kept students out of schools for extended periods of time. A deal was reached Friday in Gloucester, and the strike in Beverly remains ongoing.
Educators from around the state rallied on Tuesday morning at the State House, encouraging Gov. Maura Healey to address the ongoing strikes.
"I went in wanting to make it clear that this is a power issue at this point. Many of us are understanding these strikes as a lockout," said Andover teacher Holly Currier. "School committee members are understanding these as an attempt to break the union and are speaking out as such, and we wanted to convey to the governor that without right-to-strike legislation there will be more strikes.”
Healey issued a statement after meeting with the teachers union representatives, urging all parties in Beverly and Marblehead to reach agreements immediately.
"The parties need to finish these agreements now," she said. "And I believe the teachers should get back into school while the final details are worked out. Our young people need to be back in school – it's time to get this done."
In Beverly, the strike entered its twelfth day on Tuesday, making it the longest educator strike in modern state history. The school committee there is now refusing to negotiate because neither district made a court-ordered deadline.
A fact finding process is underway in both districts, and a hearing is scheduled for next week. Unfortunately, that means thousands of students who have already missed roughly two weeks of school could lose more. That's as teachers in these districts continue to have their pay docked.
"Cutting off pay right before Thanksgiving and upcoming holidays is clearly a tactic to bully educators and force the BTA back to work without a living wage for paras," co-president of the Beverly Teachers Association Julia Brotherton said.
City officials said they were left with no choice.
"Nobody here for a second wants to withhold a bit of anyone's pay, but we're stuck," Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill said.
Sunday in Marblehead, two school committee members were chased to their cars by angry parents and teachers.
