The Colorado Springs Education Association carried through with its plan for a one-day strike throughout Colorado Springs School District 11 for what it believes to be unfair labor practices, as classes carried on.

Union members, students and volunteers gathered outside their local school in the early morning before canvassing their neighborhoods and gathering in Acadia Park in downtown Colorado Springs to generate support for the union and three candidates running for the district’s board of education.

Colorado Education Association President and former D-11 teacher Kevin Vick told the jubilant, red-clad crowd of hundreds from across Colorado that the day’s actions were about “ensuring that our schools remain places of opportunity.”

“You made it clear that we will fight to preserve strong public schools in Colorado and to make sure the voices of parents and educators are heard,” he told them.

“Most importantly, years from now when you’re talking about this and you’re talking to your grandkids, you will be able to look them in the face and say, ‘I stood for something.’”

The one-day strike didn’t affect instruction at any school, according to district officials. All D-11 schools were open and operating as usual, district spokesperson Jessica Wise said.

Approximately one-third of teachers participated in the strike, and D-11’s substitute teacher pool covered every classroom while trained central office staff were deployed to sites as needed.

“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to every teacher and staff member who reported to work today,” D-11’s board of education said in a statement.

“Your professionalism, dedication and unwavering focus on students reflect the very best of who we are as a district. Thank you for showing up — today and every day — to move our schools forward and support our learners.”

The number of striking teachers varied from school to school, with approximately 100 people gathering outside of Palmer High School and none outside of Rudy Elementary School. D-11 confirmed that Rudy was the only school with zero staff absences.

Doherty High School Principal Hilary Hienton said they maintained communication with families about the strike, which was announced over the summer, in the days and weeks leading up to it. She added that there has been frequent dialogue within the school.

“I think at the high school level, you have a lot of advocacy and a lot of curiosity from students. So, students have been talking to their teachers or asking questions about what is going to go on,” she said. “Or I encouraged students to come directly to me if they had questions.”

Doherty senior Justice Holshue, in between classes, said that he thought it was “cool” for the teachers to raise their collective voices and added that some of his teachers weren’t in favor of the union.

The call-to-action stems from a series of actions taken by the board over the past two election cycles, which striking teachers have called “divisive.”

The final straw was allowing their annual collective bargaining agreement to expire last year, which teachers have said legally guaranteed protections for them and gave them a voice in district decisions.

Doherty High School teacher Avalon Manley said that severing the master agreement was “part of a broader political agenda.”

“Disenfranchising teacher voice, removing experts from the conversation about how we best serve our kids, those things directly hurt our classrooms. They hurt our students,” she said. “We would love to be able to prioritize them first. That’s why we’re here.”

Leading up to the strike, teachers have alleged that they have been subjected to intimidation tactics by the district to deter their involvement in the strike. They said this has included teachers getting placed on administrative leave and job termination for non-union members who participated or for teachers speaking with the news media.

Wise denied both claims, stating that teachers who participated in the strike were permitted to do so, and those absences were recorded as leave without pay, per district policy. Regarding the email, she said they were not aware of it, but that they shared a message to employees stating that the media would be discouraged from visiting any school sites so as not to further disrupt the school day.

Dressed in a vibrant red suit, President of CSEA Kevin Coughlin said he was “super excited” for the day outside of Twain Elementary, where he teaches, early Wednesday morning.

Around 30 people gathered outside the school. Many dressed in red and carried signs that claimed the district didn’t care about teachers as they chanted. 

“We’re standing up for our students, and we don’t take threats kindly,” Coughlin said. “We know that what we’re doing is righteous and important work.” 

Coughlin said the union is prepared to aid teachers who face any repercussions for participating in the strike. 

Some parents were also upset about how the district has handled the situation. Jasmine Bible said she has two children enrolled at Steele Elementary and was concerned about the teacher’s voices being silenced when it came to curriculum.

Bible has been showing up to school board meetings regularly for a year now, and she said it’s “soul-crushing” that it seems like the board isn’t listening to community input, saying it feels like they put their ear muffs on and ignore those who don’t agree with them. 

Widefield D-3 teacher Dustin Flesher, who joined the striking teachers outside Doherty, added that educators having no say in the curriculum they teach could impact how their students are being taught, if it’s determined by an agenda-driven board of education.

“It’s especially important for social studies teachers who, unfortunately, are in such a precarious position because of their subject matter, that they often resort to the least common denominator instruction,” he said.

“So, we’re not teaching our kids to think critically about history, we’re not teaching kids to understand complexities and nuance in historical situations.”

Bible wants teacher input for the curriculum because they are the most cognizant of students’ needs.

“I want (my kids’) curriculum to be decided upon by the teachers … I want them to at least have a collective voice on how things should be run,” Bible said.

Recently, union teachers have said that a portion of a health textbook concerning gender and sexual identity approved by the district has been getting removed by hand.

Wise called this example an “isolated incident” that involved supplemental material called “outdated and not aligned with the district’s board-approved materials” and confirmed it was removed to meet current curriculum standards.

In response to the union’s claims of mistreatment, D-11 leadership has championed its investments into teacher salaries, expanded coaching and professional development, and benefits increases over the past five years. For the 2024-25 school year, D-11’s average annual salary was $62,908, according to the Colorado Department of Education. For the year, this ranked sixth-highest average in Pikes Peak Region school districts.  

For the 2025-26 school year, D-11’s board of education approved a 2% salary increase for its teachers, counselors special service providers.

While Manley called the pay raises a “good start,” she added that she and many other teachers still work “at least two jobs” and they don’t address other challenges like capacity requirements and changes to curriculum.

“The money is not the only thing that matters here,” she said. “It matters, absolutely. We deserve an affordable life doing just this job. But, also, our working conditions matter. Also, having a seat at the table matters. Also, our students being effectively served matters.”  

Gazette reporter Nick Smith contributed to this report.