#RedForEd plans walk-in

Arizona Educators United plans a statewide walk-in day at schools for April 11, but numerous teachers organized and had their own events Wednesday.

The grassroots Arizona Educators United plans a statewide walk-in day for schools on April 11, but numerous schools organized their own events Wednesday.

Parents and students joined teachers as they wore red, waved signs and walked in to school together Wednesday morning.

The group is pressing for a 20 percent increase in teacher pay and about $1 billion in funding for students to make Arizona competitive with neighboring states.

Among them was Mara Contreras, a fourth-grader at Tarwater Elementary in Chandler.

She said she was excited to stand with her teachers, especially since her own teacher is retiring at the end of the year.

“She really works hard for us,” Mara said. “She’s been working hard for 25 years and I think she just needs a break. This year she gave it her all.”

In lieu of calling in sick or walking out, teachers wear red and gather at a flagpole or other central location in front of their schools to talk with parents about conditions in their classrooms and other reasons for protesting, according to Noah Karvelis.

Karvelis is a music teacher at Tres Rios Service Academy in Tolleson and one of the lead organizers for Arizona Educators United, which started as a private Facebook group for teachers and administrators that now has more than 40,000 members.

“Those conversations are powerful,” Karvelis said. “If you live in this state, you have a vested interest in this move-

ment. It’s going to be powerful to see what happens next week.”

Many teachers see walk-ins as a positive alternative to walk-outs, which gained national attention last month when nine West Valley schools closed after teachers called in sick.

Among participants in Wednesday’s walk-ins were Mesa High School, Oak Tree Elementary in Gilbert, Chandler High School and Tarwater Elementary in Chandler, Desert Sage Elementary in Glendale, Valley Vista High School in Surprise, Rincon and University high schools in Tucson and Pueblo del Sol Elementary in Sierra Vista.

Wednesdays have become #RedForEd days, with teachers and supporters wearing red and participating in various advocacy efforts.

Last week, thousands of teachers gathered after school for a rally at the state Capitol.

For Shannon Moxley, a sixth-grade teacher at Tarwater Elementary, she said she hopes the walk-ins will show Arizona lawmakers that teachers have the backing of their communities in the push for increased state funding.

“As educators and people who love children, we would much rather walk in than walk out,” Moxley said. “We’d rather be in our classrooms teaching.”

As far as being willing to walk out in the future, Moxley says it’s not off the table.

“I don’t want to strike, but I will,” she said.

This sentiment was echoed by parents, who gathered alongside teachers Wednesday morning before walking their children into the school.

“I’m appreciative of them for putting our kids first always,” said Michelle Dexter, a parent whose child attends Tarwater. “I’m absolutely willing to support them in everything they do, so if we do this for weeks on end and don’t make any progress, I’ll support a strike.”

In a post to the Arizona Educators United Facebook group, Karvelis addressed concerns among some teachers that a statewide walk-out would be more effective than a walk-in.

“We are absolutely willing to set a walk-out date,” Karvelis said in the post, specifying that it could only happen with statewide support from teachers, parents and local businesses.

In addition to a push for better pay, Arizona teachers are shining a light on the conditions inside their own classrooms, which they say have been on a steady decline for years.

In a post to the Arizona Educators United Facebook group, Arizona teachers shared more than 330 comments and photos illustrating the lack of resources, which included:

Cockroaches, snakes, spiders and mice in classrooms.

Textbooks that are falling apart or have no covers.

Broken chairs, desks, cabinets, music stands and copy machines.

Leaking pipes and holes in walls. “This has become a public crisis,” said Rebecca Garelli, a teacher at Sevilla West School in Phoenix and one of the group’s organizers. “I think it’s just escalated to a point where people say enough is enough.”