'Adults in the room have royally messed up': Families prepare for an 8th day out of the classroom, with no deal between PPS and teacher union

PORTLAND, Ore. — As Portland Public Schools families enter another week of the teacher strike, some parents fear their children may fall behind. Despite a long weekend of bargaining between the district and the union, there's still no deal to end the strike as of Monday evening. 

PPS announced before noon that kids will remain out of the classroom Tuesday, sending out a message that reads: "Today, the district's bargaining team is working to refine articles where we can possibly reach tentative agreements with our teachers' union. However, there is no indication we will make enough progress to reopen schools [Tuesday]."

Outside of the central offices in North Portland Monday, teachers rallied and prepared for yet another day on the picket lines. 

"They are the ones not compromising. They are the ones not listening to our concerns. They are the ones trying to walk away from the table," said Angela Bonilla, president of the Portland Association of Teachers (PAT), of the district and its bargaining team, "They are the ones moving away from the table, telling us that we are not trying."

Families, caught in the middle, described their anxiety about the unknowns. 

"I'm very distressed by the strike. I think that our children have suffered enough by being out of school," said Kara Colley, a parent in the district. 

She said she fears the impacts to her students if PPS and the union cannot reach a compromise, spending Monday morning outside Lincoln High School, talking with educators and hoping to persuade them to head back to the classroom. 

"What troubles me is that… I feel like the adults in the room have royally messed up," she said, "Meaning PPS, the Portland teachers union. The legislature. The governor. The adults in the room cannot get this together and work this out and our children are once again at home and out of school and their education is suffering."

PAT members emphasized that this strike wasn't what they wanted, but they said, it's what needs to happen now to support students long-term. 

"We are doing this for our students, first and foremost," said Mike Carlip, a behavior analyst for the district, "We feel a lot of that pressure to ourselves because you know, we didn't start the school year wanting for a strike to happen."

"It is complicated to be out here," said Emilee Refvem, a psychologist at Ida B. Wells High School, "It's unfortunate that it had to happen but in order to get [students] what they deserve, it happened."