Teachers across North Carolina staged a walk-in on Monday to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the condition of the state’s public school system.
The walk-in was originally intended to be a walkout, where teachers would have abandoned their classroom duties for the day, said Rodney Ellis, president of the N.C. Association of Educators.
But some teachers expressed concern that an actual walkout could cost them their jobs — and Ellis said walkout organizers were receptive to the idea of a walk-in, where educators instead would walk alongside students into their schools.
“I don’t think they genuinely wanted to walk out,” he said. “They just wanted to demonstrate their frustrations.”
Ellis said the walk-in was a more productive way for educators to express themselves and for parents to engage in the dialogue regarding public schools and education.
Educators across the state were also asked to wear red as a sign of solidarity, he said.
But not all educators chose to take the walk-in approach. John Steen, a visiting assistant professor at East Carolina University, helped organize a teacher walkout Monday on ECU’s campus.
Steen said about 70 students and faculty came to the protest, which took place during several of the day’s class changes.
“Teachers seem to be neglected by the state,” he said. N.C. ranks 46th in the nation for teacher salaries.
