Organized by the group, NC Teachers in Action, the demonstrations aim to highlight the urgent need for more support from state leaders for public education.
Organizers have outlined several key demands, including:
- Restoring longevity and master's pay
- Eliminating the 15-24 year pay freeze and supporting a livable wage
- Capping employee premium increases
- Restoring retiree health benefits
- Fully funding the Leandro Plan
Brandy Sanders, one of the organizers, emphasized the long-term impact of inadequate funding on students and communities.
"We are going to continue to have teachers leaving, and that does impact student scores, that does impact a student's education long term, and it impacts our communities long term. The funding matters," she said.
Educators from 52 schools, including Wake County, New Hanover, Charlotte, and Gaston County, are planning to walkout of the classroom.
"I'm very passionate in educating the children," Amy Job, an educator who participated in the walkout, said. "So, I'm also passionate in educating the adults because I don't think the adults realize just what NC legislatures had been taking away from the teaching profession."
The protests follow a report by the Education Law Center, which ranked North Carolina near the bottom nationwide in state funding for schools.
"We also want to feel supported," Mark Braxton, a educator who participated in the walkout, said. "But when you look at the numbers, you're like, oh, we're not truly doing our children a service because we can't get what we need to provide those services."
"I would be hard pressed to find any parents that wouldn't want to give their child everything," Amy Trice, another organizer, said. " Why wouldn't you want to give your child everything?"
Wake County officials have stated they do not anticipate any disruptions to the school schedule.
The General Assembly is set to meet on April 7. NC Teachers in Action plans to continue their efforts with monthly protests leading up to that date.
SEE ALSO: Durham Association of Educators led school walk-ins to demand official union recognition