Geneva students: 'It might be hard to catch up' after strike
'Tis the season for finals, advanced placement tests, sporting events and holiday concerts.
But with their teachers on strike and classes canceled since Tuesday, some Geneva High School students worry they'll fall behind in all those areas and more.
Sophomores Sydney Schertzer and Sam Mickus were among several students walking the picket line Wednesday outside the high school to support their teachers. The Geneva Education Association has been on strike since Tuesday after contract negotiations broke down.
Schertzer, who plays basketball at the school, says her team has been unable to practice or communicate with her coach. Any canceled games will be counted as losses.
The strike, she said "is making us all fall behind" in both academics and sports. "We all just really want to get back to school."
The music program and other extracurricular activities also are being affected, said Mickus, who is in the school's band. A choir concert scheduled for Thursday night might not happen, he said, and he worries band and orchestra students might not be ready for their holiday concerts next week.
"It's not just the school day that gets canceled; it's everything that goes on after and before," Mickus said.
With her schedule full of AP classes, senior Caitlin Farrell spent Wednesday morning working in the public library. She said she's concerned there won't be enough time to adequately prepare for placement tests or finals, which take place in two weeks.
"I'm worried I'm going to be behind learning a lot of this stuff," she said. "It might be hard to catch up."
Still, senior Aydan Fusco said the strike's effect on students doesn't compare to the extra time, effort and money educators give on their behalf. She and her friends rallied outside the high school to support their teachers, who they said frequently stay late after school, come in early and buy a lot of their own supplies.
"There's so much that the teachers put in that isn't taken into consideration," Fusco said. "What they're doing is for us, at the end of the day. It's our younger siblings, it's our little cousins who live in the town - it's for them."