Chicago teachers are going back to work. The city's teachers have finally agreed to return to the classroom after more than a week walking the picket lines and ending a spiteful stalemate with Mayor Rahm Emanuel that put teacher evaluations and job security at the center of a national debate about the future of public education.
Teacher's union delegates voted to formally suspend the strike after discussing details of a proposed contract settlement which was worked out over the weekend. Classes could resume for 350 thousand students as early as tomorrow.
This is good news for working parents who had been scrambling to find day care for their children. The strike was the first walkout for a major American city in over five years. Teacher evaluations and job security measures stirred the most intense debate.