Seattle Public Schools and the Seattle teachers union agreed over the Labor Day weekend on two items: recess time and pay for substitute teachers.

As of this afternoon, however, teacher pay and the length of the school day remain major points of contention. Without a deal today, teachers will go on strike tomorrow – what would have been the first day of school in Seattle.

The dispute over pay is playing out in a rather predictable fashion: the Seattle Education Association (the teachers union), at first asked for a 21-percent pay raise over three years, on top of the state-funded cost-of-living adjustment they will already receive. Seattle Public Schools countered with a seven-percent raise proposal over three years. The SEA then lowered its pay-raise proposal to 18 percent over three years; Seattle Public Schools increased to 8.2 percent. This morning the Seattle Times reported that the offers now stand at 16.8 percent from the SEA and 10 percent from the district – but over the next two years, not three years.

The issue of how long a school day should be adds a bit more interest to these negotiations. Instructional time has long been a topic of debate among educators, policymakers and reform advocates.

As part of its pay-raise offer, Seattle Public Schools wants an additional 30 minutes of instructional time in elementary schools. In an FAQ on its website, the school district says:

Research conducted by Spokane Public Schools discovered that our elementary school day was significantly shorter than most school systems in the state.  Additionally, elementary students in Seattle Public Schools attended school 20 minutes less than their secondary counterparts within our school district. Here is a sample chart of the length of school days for randomly selected school districts within the state of Washington:

Superintendent Larry Nyland, in a Sept. 2 bargaining update, writes:

Our students need more time with our teachers…The district has asked teachers to extend the student day, more time for PE, arts music etc., and proposes additional collaboration time within their work-day, in addition to their individual planning time. Other districts that have provided more instructional time to student learning have seen significant gains in student achievement.

Research shows quality teaching, along with additional instruction time helps reduce the opportunity gap.

The research, cited in the district’s FAQ, is from a 2010 EducationNext Journal article which argued “that increasing instructional time could have large positive effects on learning gains.” Seattle Public Schools highlighted these charts from the article:

We’ll continue to monitor not only the strikes, but the issues underlying them, as events unfold.