Marblehead teachers reach contract agreement, 2-week-long strike to end Wednesday

After 11 school days of the teachers strike, Marblehead Public Schools are set to reopen Wednesday.

“The Marblehead School Committee and the Marblehead Education Association have reached tentative agreements, and employees will be returning to work and schools will reopen on Wednesday,” Marblehead School Committee and MEA announced in a joint statement Tuesday evening. “Both the School Committee and the Association recognize the stress and hardship caused to our students and families during the school closures, and we are committed to ensuring that the reopening of our schools will be a positive experience for our students and school community.”

The Marblehead Education Association has been on strike since Tuesday, Nov. 12, through weeks of contentious contract negotiations.

The Beverly Teachers Association has been on strike since Friday, Nov. 8. No deal was announced in Beverly as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, and both sides did not provide negotiation updates throughout the day. Gloucester teachers went on strike the same day but reached a contract agreement over the last weekend.

Marblehead educators and the School Committee are each scheduled to hold press conferences on the new tentative contract agreement Tuesday night at 7:15 p.m. and 8 p.m. respectively.

“Schools will reopen for students at the usual time on Wednesday, November 27th, which is an early release day for students,” the School Committee and MEA wrote. “We look forward to welcoming our students back to school and to resuming the important work we are committed to doing.”