'Wave Of Change': Beverly Teachers End Historic Strike After 12 Days

UPDATE: 11:40 p.m.

BEVERLY, MA — The Beverly Teachers Association reached a deal on Tuesday to end the longest teachers' strike in state history, with an agreement to return to the classrooms for the first time since Nov. 7.

"Our educators will be returning back to school (Wednesday) with one of the best agreements in the state," BTA co-President Julia Brotherton said. "This massive victory is a testament to the strength of our educators and their unwavering dedication to our students."

Brotherton said the deal acknowledges that there "needs to be serious changes in Beverly Public Schools and that starts tonight" and that the contract will bring about "the wave of change we need to see in Beverly."

Twelve school days were lost to the strike that surpassed the Newton teachers' 11-day strike last winter, which had been the previous longest work stoppage.

"What this strike proved is that educators, students and families run our schools," BTA co-President Andrea Sherman said, "not politicians and bureaucrats. Us, the teachers, the paraprofessionals, the counselors, the working parents, the student activists, we keep these schools running and this community will lead the change that is needed here in Beverly."

Beverly teachers completed signing the deal at 9:30 p.m.

Brotherton said the deal includes an increase in teacher wages of 16 percent over three years. She said the contract also includes at least six weeks of paid parental leave.

"But the fight isn't over," Sherman said. "Far from it. Although we have seen a huge improvement in raising paraprofessionals' starting salary by 75 percent or more over the course of this contract, we still have work to do.

"And we need real city leaders who will commit to getting long-term wage justice for our paraprofessionals."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)