Seattle teachers voted to approve a new two-year contract last week, ending the possibility of a strike and ensuring that students returned to school on time.
About half the city’s 3,000 teachers were present for the vote, according to The Seattle Times. Attendees estimated that about 40 percent of the teachers present voted against the agreement, in the hope of going back to the bargaining table.
Under the agreement, teachers will receive a 2 percent raise this school year and a 2.5 percent raise for 2014-15.
The district will continue to use test scores in teacher evaluations, even as it develops a new evaluation system, and low growth in test scores will trigger further inquiry into a teacher’s performance. Measures of Academic Progress tests will no longer be used for evaluations—something Seattle teachers had fought for through boycotts that put them in the national spotlight.
