Teachers in Los Angeles reached a deal with school officials to end a week-long strike in the nation's second-largest school district.
About 30,000 teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District walked off the job Jan. 14, demanding higher pay, smaller class sizes and more support staff. They will return to work on Wednesday.
"I'm proud to announce that, pending approval by the teachers...we have an agreement that will allow our teachers to go back to work on the campuses tomorrow,'' Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said on Tuesday.
Officials say the deal includes a six percent pay hike and a commitment to reduce class sizes over four years. The school district will also be adding more librarians, counselors and nurses.
The teachers' main complaints had been that the classes in the school district were too large, and that the students sometimes don't have desks, forcing them to sit on the floor or on window sills.
The school district has about 600,000 students in kindergarten through grade 12.
The teachers' strike received significant support from tens of thousands of parents and students who participated in protests. District schools were kept open with a skeleton staff of volunteers, administrators and classroom aides.
