{"id":171804,"date":"2026-02-10T12:13:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:13:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/171804\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T12:13:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T12:13:30","slug":"check-back-for-coverage-all-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/171804\/","title":{"rendered":"Check back for coverage all day"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the sun rose on Monday, many thousands of San Francisco public school teachers and students were anywhere but in a classroom.<\/p>\n

After a lengthy stalemate<\/a>, teachers today commenced the district\u2019s first educator walkout since 1979. Teachers, along with principals and administrators and other unionized district employees<\/a>, are walking picket lines outside their schools. <\/p>\n

Mission Local has reporters across the city covering today\u2019s actions. Check back for updates all day.<\/p>\n

\"AEducators at C\u00e9sar Ch\u00e1vez Elementary School cheer as passing cars honk in support of the strike on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Mariana Garcia.<\/p>\n

Mayor Lurie preps parents for 2nd day of strikes, and negotiators dig in<\/p>\n

Mayor Daniel issued a statement<\/a> Monday at 5:30 p.m. telling families what they already know: Schools will remain closed on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The city is standing up even more resources for those looking for a place to send their children, he said. \u201cWe are expanding programming at 55 sites around the city so more students have a welcoming and safe place to go.\u201d Parents should reach out to community nonprofits they\u2019re connected to and \u201csee what additional childcare services are available.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, negotiations have started up again at the War Memorial Veterans Building. District and union officials are at the table for what\u2019s expected to be a long night. Read more here<\/a> about where there\u2019s agreement, and where the sides are still far apart.<\/p>\n

Educators rally by the thousand outside San Francisco City Hall<\/p>\n

Thousands gathered at Civic Center at 1 p.m. today for a centralized rally in support of the strike \u2014 educators flocked from morning pickets outside their school sites to attend. <\/p>\n

Speaker after speaker echoed the same message: The strike will continue until the teachers\u2019 demands are met.<\/p>\n

Natalie Hrizi, vice president of substitutes for the United Educators of San Francisco and a teacher librarian, said families and others joined educators on picket lines at about 130 work sites across the city.<\/p>\n

\"\"People march to San Francisco City Hall for a rally on the first day of the teachers\u2019 strike on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Alice Finno.<\/p>\n

\"ANatalie Hrizi, vice president of substitutes at United Educators of San Francisco, speaks at a rally in front of City Hall on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Alice Finno.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time is now,\u201d Hrizi said. \u201cIf we have to march to their houses, we\u2019ll march to their houses, and no one sleeps until we get the agreement our students and our educators deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Goldberg, president of the statewide California Teachers Association, the parent union, said the strike follows decades of disinvestment and exhorted people to continue striking. \u201cYou have already won,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Supervisor Jackie Fielder also spoke in support of the teachers: \u201cIf you can win sanctuary schools, we can win wages and benefits you deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Alice Finno<\/p>\n

\"AMakenna Ixchell, 6, joins her brother and mom for the SFUSD educator strike at John O\u2019Connell High School on Feb. 9, 2026. Ixchell\u2019s brother is a student at the high school. Photo by Mariana Garcia.<\/p>\n

Negotiations start, teachers bring toothbrushes, expecting a late-night<\/p>\n

At 2:25 p.m. Board of Education president Phil Kim and vice president Jaime Huling arrived at the War Memorial Veterans Building, where negotiations between the union and district were set to start.<\/p>\n

It was an unusual appearance \u2014 for the past week, negotiations have only been attended by the district\u2019s four-person bargaining team and Superintendent Maria Su, who joined on Saturday. The school board acts as an oversight and advisory board to the district, and is technically, the \u201cboss\u201d of the superintendent.<\/p>\n

Commissioners sitting in on the meeting comes as pressure mounts to come to an agreement. Earlier this morning, commissioner Matt Alexander joined protesters at Mission High, speaking out in solidarity with the union.\u00a0When asked if the superintendent is concerned about the move earlier this morning, she responded that commissioners are \u201cfree\u201d to express their own opinions.<\/p>\n

Teachers were instructed to bring toothbrushes in case bargaining went all night.<\/p>\n

At 3 p.m. Superintendent Maria Su and the distinct\u2019s bargaining team met with the union to sit back down at the bargaining table. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Marina Newman<\/p>\n

\"AA child and an adult are painting red and black letters outside of San Francisco Board of Education\u2019s building at 555 Franklin St. on the first day of the SFUSD teacher strike on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by B\u00e9atrice Valli\u00e8res.<\/p>\n

All SFUSD schools to be closed Tuesday as well<\/p>\n

An email sent out by Superintendent Maria Su at 1:50 p.m. announced that all schools across the district will be closed on Tuesday. \u201cWe will share more information and resources later today,\u201d wrote Su, before directing parents to the district\u2019s resources page<\/a>. On Monday morning, Su announced that she would announce to families whether schools would open the next day every day at noon.<\/p>\n

\"ProtestPicket signs rest on the fence at Cesar Chavez Elementary School on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Mariana Garcia.<\/p>\n

War Memorial Building hosts bargaining sessions<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot afford for this to continue,\u201d said Superintendent Maria Su at a 9:30 a.m. press conference at the War Memorial Building, where the union and district staff will continue bargaining at noon. \u201cI am ready to sit back down and I will stay here all night \u2014 as long as it takes to get to a full agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The union is expected to present its counter proposal to the district this afternoon. When asked what the district intends to do if the union does not concede to a lower salary increase than its longstanding demand and the district\u2019s offer of only partially funded family health care, Su would only reply, \u201cI look forward to seeing the counter proposal today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Marina Newman<\/p>\n

\"ADeirdre Fitzgerald, a third grade teacher at the Tenderloin Community Elementary School, pickets outside her school on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by B\u00e9atrice Valli\u00e8res<\/p>\n

In front of the Tenderloin\u2019s elementary school, 40 people held signs that read \u201cOn Strike\u201d and \u201cWe can\u2019t wait.\u201d They paced Turk and Van Ness as drivers honked in support.<\/p>\n

Deirdre Fitzgerald, a third grade teacher at Tenderloin Community Elementary School, said the main reason she\u2019s striking is the \u201cdisarray\u201d of the special education department, which she said impacts all students. She also highlighted the low wages, which she said have not been enough to keep up with recent increases in the cost of living in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re asking for is what every worker in the city should be getting,\u201d she said. \u201cWe should be getting a livable wage, we should be getting an organization that is well organized and efficient. We\u2019re just not seeing that right now, and we\u2019re not seeing them come to the table with anything that we can really accept moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 B\u00e9atrice Valli\u00e8res<\/p>\n

\"AFamilies and teachers picket outside Jefferson Elementary School at 19th and Irving, Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Junyao Yang<\/p>\n

Jefferson Elementary School<\/p>\n

At Jefferson Elementary School on 19th Avenue and Irving Street, teachers started setting up for the strike at 6:15 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At 8:50 a.m., almost nonstop, cars, buses, big rigs and fire trucks honked in support as they drive down the thoroughfare. With \u201cDynamite\u201d by Taio Cruz playing in the background, some 40 teachers walked the picket line with signs reading \u201con strike for our students\u201d in English, Chinese and Spanish.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe energy is so high, we have so many students and parents here with us,\u201d said Kirsten Surber, a kindergarten teacher and site captain at Jefferson. \u201cWe thoughts it\u2019s only gonna be teachers, but no. That feels so great.\u201d<\/p>\n

One teacher told his student there maybe substitute teachers, and the response was, \u201cMs. Peterson if you\u2019re not here I\u2019m not here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just disappointed they haven\u2019t been serious. They are dragging their feet,\u201d said Steven O\u2019Reilly, a special education teacher at Jefferson. <\/p>\n

Josseline and Johanna, who are in fourth and first grade, were walking the picket line with their parents, who are both nurses. Josseline\u2019s favorite subject is social studies, she said, and she just learned about how missionaries would christianize Native American people.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t teach her that!\u201d said her mom, Justine Sibuyan. The latest knowledge she came home and shared with her parents was that some turtles can breathe through their butts, Sibuyan recalled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t relive Covid again. Zero quality of teaching. And maybe why they\u2019re so addicted to their iPad,\u201d Sibuyan said. \u201cOur caretakers need to be taken care of.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Junyao Yang<\/p>\n

\"\"United Educators of San Francisco president Cassondra Curiel speaks at a demonstration outside Mission High on Day One of the teachers strike, Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Alice Finno.<\/p>\n

Mission High School <\/p>\n

At Mission High on Monday morning, parents and educators were joined by a handful of young students who sleepily raised signs reading \u201cOn Strike!\u201d One union member wearing an inflatable bear costume with dangling camo pants bopped up and down as his partner chanted into a megaphone, \u201cWe need a fair contract!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The roughly 50 students and staff were joined by union president Cassondra Curiel and school board member Matt Alexander.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so proud of these educators for standing up for what is right,\u201d said Alexander. \u201cThis fight is righteous and necessary.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, the union and the district came to a tentative agreement on the district\u2019s sanctuary school policy, but not on any of the unions other demands, which include a 9 percent wage increase and fully funded family health care. In just hours, the union and the district are scheduled to meet again. Both Mayor Daniel Lurie and Rep. Nancy Pelosi have beseeched the union and district to come to an agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Standing on the steps of Mission High, Curiel said that she had frequent talks with the mayor. \u201cHe supports our demands,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Marina Newman<\/p>\n

\"\"Families and educators gathered for a demonstration outside Sanchez Elementary School on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Alice Finno.<\/p>\n

Sanchez Elementary School <\/p>\n

Cameron Korving and Mariana Fuentes, paraprofessionals for special education classes, were picketing in front of Sanchez Elementary School on Sanchez between 16th and 17th on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re shortstaffed in my classroom,\u201d Korving said.<\/p>\n

\"TwoMilo McCarter and Henry D., third and fourth graders at Sanchez Elementary School, join the teachers\u2019 strike with their parents on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Alice Finno.<\/p>\n

Teachers have been fighting for higher salaries so that children with special needs can get additional support, she added. \u201cIt\u2019s hard for us to make sure each of them is getting a quality education.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just need to be able to survive in this city,\u201d Fuentes said. \u201cI\u2019ve been living here for my whole life, and the rent is going really high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parents and children also joined the strike to show support for their teachers. <\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Alice Finno<\/p>\n

\"AAround 11 a.m. on Feb. 9, 2026, some 80 teachers of A.P. Giannini Middle School and Sunset Elementary School walked from campus to Sunset Boulevard and Rivera to picket with other Sunset public schools. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/p>\n

A.P. Giannini Middle School <\/p>\n

At around 11 a.m., some 80 teachers from A.P. Giannini Middle School and Sunset Elementary School walked from campus to Sunset Boulevard and Rivera to picket alongside other Sunset public schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEducation is a right,\u201d the organizer chanted. \u201cThat is why we gotta fight!\u201d The crowd responded.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As teachers walked along Sunset Boulevard,\u00a0construction workers perched atop a half finished building on the campus St. Ignatius College Preparatory, chanted across the six-lane road \u2014 first only with their voices and then with a bullhorn \u2014\u00a0\u201cEl pueblo unido jam\u00e1s ser\u00e1 vencido<\/a>\u201d (the people united will never be defeated) to cheers from the teachers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By 11:10 a.m., teachers occupied all four corners of Sunset Boulevard and Rivera Street in the Outer Sunset. Protesters hailed from Lincoln High School, Dianne Feinstein Elementary School and Ulloa Elementary School among others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen teachers are under attack what do we do? Stand up fight back!\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Junyao Yang<\/p>\n

\"AShireval McClain, a paraeducator at McKinley Elementary School, joins the educator strike at John O\u2019Connell High School on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Mariana Garcia.<\/p>\n

John O\u2019Connell High School<\/p>\n

At John O\u2019Connell High in the Mission, around 50 educators chanted on the picket line: \u201cUnion power! Union power!\u201d<\/p>\n

Michelle Cody, a regional strike captain and teacher at Bessie Carmichael Elementary School in SoMa, chatted with around five staff members who were planning on crossing the picket line. \u201cI was educating the people that were tempted to cross the line, and let them know what we\u2019re fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cody successfully convinced at least one woman not to cross, but later, when district staff opened the gate to the school, a group of women, some paraeducators, others \u201cnoon monitors\u201d hurriedly crossed through the picketers and onto school grounds, to which they were met with boos by educators.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were being threatened by their supervisors over the phone,\u201d Cody said, adding that she was told the workers\u2019 supervisors told them they would be fired if they didn\u2019t report for duty on Monday.<\/p>\n

\"ProtestersEducators at John O\u2019Connell High School are on strike on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Mariana Garcia.<\/p>\n

Elena Royale, department head of special education at O\u2019Connell, said she is on strike to fight for \u201csafe and stable\u201d schools for her students.<\/p>\n

Royale said special education classes are overcrowded, with up to 25 students in classrooms that should only have around 12. \u201cOur kids with the highest needs are being packed in the classrooms,\u201d she said, \u201cand not provided the right amount of educators.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Mariana Garcia<\/p>\n

SFUSD headquarters, 555 Franklin St. <\/p>\n

Earlier this morning outside the administrative offices of the San Francisco Unified School District, the atmosphere was festive. About 50 demonstrators chanted and marched on the street, accompanied by music and percussions. A group of protesters painted the phrase \u201cWe can\u2019t wait\u201d in yellow, red and black on the floor right at the building\u2019s entrance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe energy today has been very high,\u201d said Yajaira Cuapio, a social worker and member of the executive board of the United Educators of San Francisco teachers union. \u201cI\u2019ve also been hearing and getting videos from school sites all across San Francisco where students are out, where parents are out. The community is out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rally also featured representatives of other labor unions that came out to show solidarity with UESF, including SEIU 1021, the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 39, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 21.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe feel it\u2019s super important to let UESF know, and also to let the public know, that as labor unions, we all stand together with each other and no matter what happens, we\u2019re here to help them and support them,\u201d said Dave Pankenier, a member of the SFUSD chapter of IFPTE Local 21.<\/p>\n

Local 21 is currently conducting its own contract negotiations with SFUSD.
\u201cIt\u2019s been challenging, I gotta say,\u201d Pankenier said. \u201cWhen we meet for contract negotiations, I feel as though the district isn\u2019t giving us their full attention, and this is because there are obviously other contract negotiations going on with bigger unions.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, he said, it doesn\u2019t look as though Local 21 is headed for a strike of its own. \u201cOur contract negotiations are ongoing, and we hope to resolve those in a way that makes everyone feel good.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2014 B\u00e9atrice Valli\u00e8res<\/p>\n

\"ATen-year-old Ellie Early King joins the picket line at Everett Middle School with her mum on the first day of the teachers\u2019 strike. Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Alice Finno.<\/p>\n

Everett Middle School<\/p>\n

In the Mission District, about 70 people \u2013 including teachers, social workers, students, and parents from Sanchez Elementary School and Everett Middle School \u2013 gathered to picket outside Everett. The group marched and chanted on the sidewalk, cheering each time a passing car honked to show support.<\/p>\n

Annie Bartkowski, who teaches English to immigrant students at Everett Middle School, said she was glad the teachers secured sanctuary protections against ICE in their contract. Still, she said she hopes the district will do more to support unhoused students.<\/p>\n

Bartkowski said she was unsure how long the strike would last. \u201cWe don\u2019t want it to go on for a while, but we\u2019re really serious in fighting for what our students deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellie Early King, 10, joined the picket line in front of Everett with her mom, a social worker at the school.<\/p>\n

Early King said she likes going to school, but she understands the importance of the strike. \u201cIt\u2019s good that we\u2019re going on strike because teachers deserve to have the things that they want, and the district isn\u2019t giving them that,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u2014 Alice Finno<\/p>\n

\"The\u201cNo one\u2019s here. The whole place is closed,\u201d said Gabriel, a senior at Lowell High School on Feb. 9, 2026. Photo by Junyao Yang.<\/p>\n

Lowell High School <\/p>\n

At Lowell High School, three students gathered outside the school entrance a little before 1 p.m. They came to school for drone practice. And they were the only ones.<\/p>\n

The school site is ostensibly open as one of the eight \u201cstaff centers<\/a>\u201d where the school district directed teachers, principals and others to report to on Monday morning, the day of the first city educator walkout since the 1970s. Evidently, not many district employees chose to staff the staff center. \u201cNo one\u2019s here,\u201d said Gabriel, a Lowell senior. \u201cThe whole place is closed.\u201d <\/p>\n

Teachers gave them materials to study before going on strike, they said, and a test will happen as soon as the strike is over. \u201cA lot of them are unsure about the future, about how long the strike will go on,\u201d said Audrey, a sophomore at Lowell.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeachers are really torn because they want to be a part of the strike, they need to make a living, and then they also really care about their students,\u201d Gabriel said. \u201cThey are walking a really thin line between respecting the union and trying to do their best for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0Junyao Yang<\/p>\n

\"ConstructionConstruction workers atop a partially completed building at St. Ignatius College Prep serenade striking public school teachers marching past by shouting \u201cEl pueblo unido jam\u00e1s ser\u00e1 vencido\u201d (the people united will never be defeated). Photo by Junyao Yang <\/p>\n

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