Newton's teachers and the city's School Committee came to agreement on Friday to end the nearly two-week-long strike. After undergoing a year of unsuccessful negotiations and underfunding for the education system, Newton teachers took a stand.

11 days into the strike, which marks one of the longest Massachusetts teachers strikes in decades, a four-year contract with upgrades to compensation, family leave, mental health support for students, and protecting teachers' designated planning or preparation time was voted for and agreed upon. 

“People need to realize the blame falls more on the school committee because [the teachers] tried to negotiate for a long time before taking these drastic measures," one Newton student said. "People forget that when considering the strike teachers need to have good conditions to be good teachers.” 

To compensate for the days lost, students will report to school over their scheduled February break. Many teachers, students and families will be forced to cancel plans and other events to ensure the 180 days of school is met before June 30 as public school as required. 

“I’m upset the strike lasted so long," another Newton student said. "It’s frustrating that the mayor took away our February break."

Massachusetts law prohibits teachers and other public employees from protesting with strikes. The 11 days of striking will cause more than $500,000 in fines to be charged to Newton’s  Teachers Association.

 Additionally, if the strike proceeded onto Monday, fines would increase to $100,00 per day for the NTA in efforts to stop the strike and get students back into their classrooms 

Other districts and communities have rallied and participated in strikes, including Dedham, Brookline, Malden, Haverhill, Woburn and Andover. 

Newton teachers are setting precedence as they demand better conditions even at the cost of missing days in the classroom.