San Francisco Unified special needs teacher speaks about the strike

By Amanda Hari

For the first time in nearly 50 years, San Francisco Unified School District students spent the day away from class because their teachers are on strike.

SFUSD officials announced school will be closed again on Tuesday as both sides continue to negotiate. Parents are continuing to deal with the reality of no school.

“These people who work, they can clock in and out, but I still have my child 24 hours a day,” said parent Rachel Gunabe. 

Gunabe is a parent of a special needs child. Her 8-year-old daughter has autism. She’s also a special needs teacher within SFUSD, she believes special needs parents aren’t being heard.

“They can’t go out into public and raise their voice because they’re so afraid that their child might run away into the street,” Gunabe explained. “Or do something like scratch or hit or slap a person, and it’s taken the wrong way. These families are shut in.”

Gunabe says she knows many of her students’ parents work multiple jobs, making it difficult for them to take off during the strike without taking a financial hit. The district is offering childcare programs, but they may not be equipped for special needs children.

“We don’t have a lot of people who are trained to take care of these kids,” said Gunabe. 

Most of these kids are on individualized education programs, and regression can happen quickly.

“Children with extensive support needs are all so unique that the rate of regression for each child varies,” said Gunabe. “It could be the next day. The routine is so disrupted and they come back and they’re so dysregulated.”

SFUSD says they are working around the clock to come to an agreement.

Laura Dudnick explains their focus is coming up with a plan that honors educators while being fiscally responsible, so the district can get out of state oversight.

“We want to put forward an agreement that increases salaries but does not cut critical resources for students,” said Dudnick. “Protecting classrooms, protecting student services, and special education supports are at the center and heart of our work.”

One of the items that remains at an impasse is increased resources for special needs children.

Gunabe says more children are constantly being added to her roster, and they need more special needs faculty. 

“We teach, as educators, in our new math curriculum to use math to solve real-world problems,” said Gunabe. “So, what I would like, for us as adults, is to use math to solve this real-world problem.”