Teachers and community members will participate in a unity walk

The community members and the teachers of Addison Teachers’ Association (ATA) will participate in a community walk. The unity walk is organized in the support of teachers and students for attaining a fair contract. The ATA has called the walk after the delay in the negotiation talks between the ATA and Addison School District 4.

Allison Andrikokus, the co-president of ATA, said, “We would not stop fighting until we get what’s best and fair for our students, teachers, and our communities.” The district has been losing 23 quality teachers per year due to the unfair contracts and other reasons. There is a clear need to keeping the high-quality teachers in the district, according to Andrikokus. When a teacher leaves, students are the ones who suffer the most.

There are 327 members of the ATA including teachers, psychologists, social workers, librarians, and speech pathologists. The bargaining between the district and the association started in December. There are 4059 students in the district. The contract of ATA is going to expire on June 30. Andrikokus said, “Per-pupil spending is far below the state average and the lowest in DuPage County.” The ATA wants the board to put students first.

ATA’s president said that they want the average pay for the teachers as it is in DuPage County. The best way to attract the quality teachers is the best pay and the association demands a fair contract for the teachers. The loss of a teacher is the loss of students, schools, and communities as well. The mediation session between the board of education and the ATA is set for Sep. 16, at 6:00 pm.

The members of the ATA, community members, parents of the students, and the students will participate in a unity walk for showing their support with the bargaining team of the association. They will walk along Lake Street and Kennedy Drive.