LOS ANGELES, CA – Scott Barber is a Los Angeles Unified School District teacher at Elizabeth Learning Center in Cudahy.
- Couple impacted by strike
- Teachers feeling the impact in SoCal
- Facing issues like class sizes
Barber has commuted from Orange County for over 20 years. He is a Career Technical Education teacher and because of the strike had to cancel his business class’ trip to Bakersfield.
They class participates in a yearly enterprise competition, which they look forward to all year.
“It’s heartbreaking. And then the next thought is how am I going to tell these kids? This stuff, it sucks for the students because they’re not part of this. And they’re the ones most affected by it,” said Barber.
However, Barber does receive support at home. His wife Christina Barber is also a teacher, at MacArthur Intermediate in Santa Ana. Her support isn’t just as a spouse, it’s as a fellow educator.
The issues that LAUSD teachers are facing, like class size, are being confronted by districts all over Southern California. Christina Barber is hoping that the strike’s effects doesn’t trickle down to Orange County.
“This is not just about what’s going on in LA. We’re here to support them, but we’re here to hopefully prevent it from spreading... from coming down our way,” Christina Barber said.
For Barber, who will have to ride the strike out, it means a lot for his wife to be someone who understands his situation, and has the same passion to inspire the next generation.
“That’s been our entire career. That’s been the cool thing about us both being teachers, is we understand what each other’s going through,” said Barber.
The effects of the strike are being felt at schools miles across SoCal.