Little Rock School District teachers took part in a one-day strike Thursday and were joined on the picket lines by parents and students. Picketers are objecting to the district no longer recognizing the teacher’s union and the district still being under state control.
Outside of Central High School, there were chants of "What do we want? Local control! When do we want it? Now!"
Chris Dorer, the school’s History department chair, said that the district being under state control equates to systematic racism and oppression.
"The majority of the students who attend our school are minority students, and this is an attempt to essentially disenfranchise their parents, to take away their voice in education, and we, as educators, are not going to allow that to happen," Dorer said.
He hopes the strike will resonate with Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the state Board of Education and Education Secretary, Johnny Key. Dorer said the renunciation of the teacher’s union was an "unethical and immoral" decision.
"We were, as teachers, there to protect our kids in the classrooms everyday, and when they destroyed our union and stripped us of recognition, we were essentially stripped of the protections that allowed us to make sure our students were protected from the state and their overreach," Dorer said.
Arkansas-native Ryan Davis said he was the product of the Little Rock School District. He chose to keep his children home during the strike and joined picketers outside of Dunbar Elementary School to support local teachers.
"I am who I am because four generations of people in my family were teachers," Davis said. "I recognize and it’s a very heartfelt recognition of the importance of teachers in our society."
Former educator Jennifer Gess relocated her family from out of state partly so her children would be in the Little Rock School District. She said changes following the move caused her to take a stand against state control. She fears patterns modeled in Little Rock will spread to other districts.
"The little microaggressions against the teachers that add up over time to now what are large swipes against the teachers eventually will destroy the school district," Gess said. "I think it’s not going to be limited to the Little Rock School District. It is going to spread across the state, and I think we need to stop it where it’s starting."
A state Board of Education meeting scheduled for Thursday was expected to include discussion of the relationship between the district and the state.