Catherwood LibraryILR School

Teachers in Andover, Massachusetts went on a three-day strike that started on Monday. Teachers will return to school later this week after the Andover School Committee and the Andover Education Association reached a new contract agreement. The contract will increase teacher salaries by 15.5% over the next four years, and instructional assistants' pay will increase by 34% over this period. The agreement also provides teachers with eight weeks of paid parental leave and four weeks of sick time and increases teacher planning time during the workday. The Andover School Committee stated that the increase in teacher pay and greater worker benefits will result in cuts elsewhere to fund these measures, and various services and programs could be impacted. The teacher strike action led to school closures starting last week Friday, and over 5,600 students in the Andover school district were affected. In the state of Massachusetts, it is illegal for teachers to strike, and the Andover Education Association received a $50,000 fine from a state judge for violating the law.