Natomas High School students walked out of class Monday morning in solidarity with their teachers who have been striking for five consecutive school days.
Natomas Unified School District teachers have been striking since March 10, seeking raises and fully-paid health benefits. A similar strike has been taking place for teachers in the neighboring Twin Rivers Unified School District since March 5.
Junior Elfie White co-organized the walkout in hopes that it would prompt the district to “stop messing around with the union” and give teachers what they are seeking.
“All my teachers mean so much to me, and they deserve what they’re asking for,” she said.
She said that her classmates are “outraged” by conditions at their school.
“They’ve been shoving us into different classrooms throughout the day and there’s been no actual learning happening, just busy work that they say will be graded but won’t actually be graded,” she said. “We want to stand in solidarity with our teachers.”
Students left school after 9 a.m. and marched two miles to the district office where they rallied alongside teachers.
The union and the district most recently met to bargaining Sunday afternoon, but no agreement was reached despite new health care proposals on both sides.
Natomas teachers are seeking an 8.5% raise across two years, fully-paid health benefits for individuals and their dependents and caps on classroom sizes. The district is offering a 4% raise and a proposal to increase its contribution to the health care plan for educators and their dependents.
Lupe Heredia, a school social worker at Natomas Unified School District, walks along Truxel Road in Sacramento during a Natomas High School student walkout in support of teachers on Monday. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com 
Ashlyn Aravhna, 17, a senior at Natomas High School, joins a student walk out during a teachers strike on Monday outside of the Natomas Unified School District offices. Aravhna said she made the two-mile march from the high school to support her mother, who is a teacher. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com 
Flo Cofer, a candidate for Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, walks on Truxel Road with Natomas High School students during a walkout in support of a teachers strike on Monday. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com 
Natomas High School students are helped across Truxel Road as they walk out to join a teachers strike on Monday. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com 
Sacramento Councilmember Karina Talamantes joins a Natomas High School student walkout during a teacher strike at Natomas High School on Monday. The students and teachers marched two miles from the school to the district office. HECTOR AMEZCUA hamezcua@sacbee.com
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 2:49 PM.
The Sacramento Bee
Hector Amezcua is an award-winning visual journalist for The Sacramento Bee. Fluent in Spanish, he is a Fresno State graduate in journalism and Chicano studies. He has worked for McClatchy since 1992, taking pictures at all three Bee newsrooms in California.
The Sacramento Bee
Jennah Pendleton is an education reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered schools and culture in the San Francisco Bay Area. She grew up in Orange County and is a graduate of the University of Oregon.