Providence charter school campus closed due to teacher strike

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Highlander Charter School’s elementary campus will be closed Monday and Tuesday due to what school officials are calling an illegal strike by teachers.

According to Superintendent Simona M. Simpson-Thomas, families were notified in a Friday letter about the strike by IBEW Local 2323-represented teachers.

The campus will be closed due to what officials are calling unsafe staffing levels while the teachers said they have been trying to negotiate a deal for over a year.

Wages and health insurance are the sticking points in the negotiations despite some headway being made in other areas.

Highlander Charter fourth grade teacher Megan Sullivan told ABC6 that school educators are asking for a wage to make ends meet.

“I’m one of many people that work a second job at Highlander to kind of make up for the extreme wage gap that we experience,” said Sullivan.

Superintendent Simpson-Thomas said that the strike is “an unnecessary and irresponsible disruption for our students and families.”

The Rhode Island Department of Education weighed in on the strike, also saying that it is illegal and saying that they “strongly urge all parties to work toward a resolution that keeps students’ learning and well-being at the center.”

The strike will begin at 7:30 a.m. Monday and will not impact the school’s campus in Warren.