SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — Many parents of students in the San Francisco Unified School District are feeling the strain of the ongoing teachers’ strike.
Some are forced to take time off work due to a lack of child care.
Parents tell ABC7 Eyewitness News that they want to support teachers. But they also say kids not attending class and staying home from school creates an extra heavy burden.
“It’s tricky. We don’t know how long this is going to go for. Every day we are kind of scrambling,” said parent Clara Kelleher.
She said it’s a juggling act — trying to balance her work as a nurse and child care during the teachers’ strike in San Francisco.
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“A lot of us are feeling very derailed. We are kind of relying on the community at this point to help each other,” Kelleher said.
Kelleher, a single mother, has one daughter in preschool. She also has two young daughters who go to Sherman Elementary School. She has to find child care for them every day because of the strike.
“The last few days, it was between my elderly parents that have been helping. It has been really hard for them,” Kelleher said.
The stress is starting to take a toll on families. Kelleher was moved to tears, explaining to ABC7 Eyewitness News how she has been getting by.
Her daughter, Scarlet, asked her mother, “Why are you crying?”
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Kelleher answered, “It’s really hard for mommy, but we’re going to figure it out day by day.”
“It’s been a lot. I could tell my mom has been working really hard,” said 5th-grader Olivia Castro.
Castro spent much of Tuesday at the Salesian Boys and Girls Club in North Beach. That club extended its hours this week to help students who couldn’t go to school because of the strike.
“It feels unusual not going to school,” Castro said.
In Chinatown, ABC7 Eyewitness News caught up with parent Yan Fen Kuang. She was picking up lunch for her son from the Community Youth Center on Waverly Street. It’s one of dozens of places offering San Francisco Unified School District students free breakfast and lunches during the strike.
We asked Kuang what she and her 11th-grader are doing to get by during the strike.
Kuang said her child and other students are missing valuable classroom time. Kuang also said they feel helpless.
She wants her son to get back to class as soon as possible and hopes the strike is resolved soon.
Kelleher says she is taking it day by day. She and other parents are pulling together to help each other out.
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