A third of Colorado Springs School District 11 teachers strike

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Colorado Springs Education Association (CSEA) union teachers in the Colorado Springs School District 11 took to the picket lines on Wednesday morning.

Parents shared that they were unable to get in contact with schools in District 11.

Parents received this message and an email regarding the phone system being down.

KRDO13 spoke with District 11 about the phone lines, and the district shared that there was a nationwide outage of its provider, Webex.

The district said this was terrible timing and did not have anything to do with the strike, nor did they cut the phone lines. District 11 says the phone service was restored after 9 a.m.

Parents also shared concerns about students being put in gyms instead of learning. We brought the community's questions to the district.

A spokesperson for District 11 tells KRDO13 that students are all engaged in learning today. They explained that a few schools did design special activities for part of the day, saying some have a guest speaker, and one middle school is having a field day. The district also noted that a "significant number" of individuals from central admin, who they say were deployed to schools, were sent back to their jobs before 10 a.m. because there was no need for additional subs at schools, according to a district spokesperson.

One student told KRDO13 they chose not to attend school today to support their teachers on strike.

"If we can take this one day to improve another 50 years of education, just like the master agreement improved, a previous 50 years of education, then it is worth it," explained Matthew Cole, a District 11 senior.

He explained how he wanted to stand up with other students to create change.

Parents of District 11 students spoke out alongside educators in a press conference.

"Teachers need a voice in setting the policies that affect our students and ultimately our entire community," shared parent Kimbra Smith, "Transparent communication and a strong negotiated contract help teachers feel valued and safe, which allows them to focus on the dozen other jobs they're already doing for our children. I'm incredibly thankful for how hard our teachers are fighting for my child and for all D11 students, and that's why I support this strike and I will continue to stand for our educators."

However, the strike was met with criticism from a group against the union.

"CSEA is throwing a temper tantrum because they've lost power," said Jason Dudash with the Freedom Foundation, "Most teachers are still in the classrooms, they're happy with this new arrangement not being any longer beholden to the union."

Counter protestors argue that if the teachers on strike cared about the students, they would be in the classroom.

WATCH: Unionized D11 teachers hold press conference ahead of strike

In response to the strike, the District 11 Board of Education issued the following statement.

Statement from the Board of Education in response to action on October 8th, 2025:

“Today, District 11 did exactly what a great public school system should do — we stayed focused on students. Every school opened on time, every classroom welcomed learners, and instruction continued without disruption. We also want to thank our administration and Superintendent Gaal for their leadership and commitment to maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment today.

On behalf of the Board of Education, I want to extend my sincere gratitude to every teacher and staff member who reported to work today. Your professionalism, dedication, and unwavering focus on students reflect the very best of who we are as a district. Thank you for showing up — today and every day — to move our schools forward and support our learners.

Our path remains clear. Every student in District 11 deserves the very best, and every day of instruction matters. We believe our educators are the key to student success, and the Board will continue to invest in them — supporting the learning environment and fostering high-quality education for every single student.

There is no other option but excellence. Together, we will keep delivering the education our students deserve.”

-Board of Education, The Colorado Springs School District 11

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