Natomas High students stage walkout in solidarity with striking teachers
Natomas High School students walked out of class Monday morning in solidarity with their teachers who have been striking for five consecutive school days.
Natomas Unified School District teachers have been striking since March 10, seeking raises and fully-paid health benefits. A similar strike has been taking place for teachers in the neighboring Twin Rivers Unified School District since March 5.
Junior Elfie White co-organized the walkout in hopes that it would prompt the district to “stop messing around with the union” and give teachers what they are seeking.
“All my teachers mean so much to me, and they deserve what they’re asking for,” she said.
She said that her classmates are “outraged” by conditions at their school.
“They’ve been shoving us into different classrooms throughout the day and there’s been no actual learning happening, just busy work that they say will be graded but won’t actually be graded,” she said. “We want to stand in solidarity with our teachers.”
Students left school after 9 a.m. and marched two miles to the district office where they rallied alongside teachers.
The union and the district most recently met to bargaining Sunday afternoon, but no agreement was reached despite new health care proposals on both sides.
Natomas teachers are seeking an 8.5% raise across two years, fully-paid health benefits for individuals and their dependents and caps on classroom sizes. The district is offering a 4% raise and a proposal to increase its contribution to the health care plan for educators and their dependents.
This story was originally published March 16, 2026 at 2:49 PM.
