Amidst the Portland teacher strike, Leodis V. McDaniel High School’s student-run publication, the Oracle, has been speedily producing strike-related content. They committed themselves to only producing content on the strike since November first. Thisbe Delamarter, a senior and student journalist at Mcdaniel High School, made continuous efforts to provide her community fair and honest content on the strike. In an interview with her, she explained how she viewed the strike as a unique challenge that many student journalists don’t get because it thrust her into a fast-paced, more realistic environment. 

Delamarter shared her and other students’ thoughts and experiences regarding the strike: “There are no teachers available to contact right now, learning is very self-led. It’s reminiscent of the COVID era, in a way.”

 She also explained how most classes, with a few exceptions, were not giving out homework, and many students were not aware that there was going to be a teacher strike. Delamarter also said that teachers were not allowed to talk about union and strike related topics during work hours unless asked. The teachers told students about their planned strike a week in advance.

“I don’t think that most students knew a strike was happening until a week or so before it began. Personally, I found out about the strike at the end of September… I am in a unique position because my mother is involved with the union. Once word of the strike became more widely known, the topic was sure to come up every day,” Delamater commented.

From grades K-8, her school life was plagued with technical issues due to the PPS’ inability to do the bare minimum. She said, “When I was still attending my K-8, our drinking water was deemed non-consumable due to lead content. The paint on our walls had lead in it, too. Our school had leaky ceilings and terrible climate control, especially in the summer… In the warmer months classrooms would become unbearably hot.” 

Leodis V. McDaniel High School was luckily remodeled just a few years ago, but staffing is a big issue there. With a lack of supporting staff and counselors, there has been a decrease in the classroom’s quality. 

“This year, we have an unprecedented amount of freshmen, about 500. The senior class is just under 400, but that number was smaller last year. Because there are so many freshmen, we don’t have enough teachers to accommodate them comfortably, and a lot of their classes are really large, particularly the required courses.”

The teachers of the Portland public school district have been forming picket lines at the PPS schools; both students and their parents supported educators as the strike dragged on. Moreover, multiple rallies were held at different locations including the Portland Public Schools headquarters on Nov. 7.

As of November 26, 2023 the Portland Association of Teachers has reached a new contract with Portland Public Schools. The problems teachers proposed be fixed include mold, rodents and temperature, the need for more staff, and more planning time. The new deal includes 175 million dollars put into the contract in the next three years due to pay increases as well as many of the issues proposed by the Portland Association of Teachers. 

 As of the time of publishing, the PPS and PAT have settled their dispute after 3 weeks of protest. In addition to Delamarter’s articles, The Oracle has photo essays and articles related to the strike.