Lydia Taylor (287)

This past August, a new contract between the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) and the School District of Philadelphia was agreed upon, only days before the kickoff of the 2025-26 school year. If an agreement could not be reached in time, teachers were en route to strike on the first day of the school year. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is a 14,000-person union that encompasses paraprofessionals, teachers, counselors, nurses, and more. These are the people directly impacted by the new contract. The three-year contract is meant to last from September 1, 2025, until late August of 2028 and was voted for by seventy percent of the PFT. 

The new contract addresses topics from leave policy to pay. The former leave policy, referred to as the ‘3-5-7-9 rule,’ restricted union members from using the allotted ten sick days per school year. Additionally, new parents under the PFT were previously forced to dip into sick and vacation days to stay home with their newborn children. However, union members are no longer penalized for using their sick days, and new parents are granted five weeks of paid parental leave. When asked about the leave policies, African American History teacher Mr. Smith explained that the changes show “more trust in the employees” and that it comes down to “a matter of… giving [teachers] a little bit more grace for their lives outside of school.”

One of the most notable differences in the new contract is the opportunity to earn higher pay. Senior Career Teacher is the highest level of pay a teacher can receive in their career. Formerly, teachers needed a master’s degree plus sixty credits, two certifications, and ten years of teaching experience in the district; that has been decreased to thirty credits and ten years of teaching. In addition to this, changes in salary include a one-time $1,400 raise and a three percent pay bump for the length of the contract. Mr. Smith shared that one of the main goals of the contract should be to highlight and reward all the hard work teachers put into what they do.

To wrap it all up, the point of the new contract is to improve the reality of being a teacher. By making conditions more tolerable and fair, this contract works to not only keep teachers in the school district but also to attract those from outside. Circumstances need to change to uphold the simple fact that the schools, students, and teachers of Philadelphia have so much to offer if only given the opportunity to thrive.