The new agreement includes provisions that guarantee all student learning areas will be climate controlled by the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year, a reduction in class sizes across all grades, and paid parental leave program for teachers, as well as salary increases for the next three years, Fuentes said.

The district had previously offered a 3% pay bump but refused guaranteed air conditioning — an issue that sat at the core of the strike, according to the union.

Thousands took to the picket lines last week, many carrying signs calling out issues with temperatures at schools. “98 DEGREES IS A BOY BAND NOT A CLASSROOM TEMPERATURE,” read the sign one teacher held outside East High School.

After the agreement was reached early Thursday following a nearly 14-hour bargaining session, teachers used Thursday and Friday for planning to prepare for a return to class Monday.

“We are excited to get back to where we belong — our classrooms — doing what we do best: educating our students and shaping the future of our great city,” Fuentes said.

Fuentes added that workers across the nation are “tired of settling for the status quo,” and said she hopes the union’s work is a catalyst that will inspire people nationwide to fix issues in public education.

“They need to put more of an investment in our students because they are the most important investment in this entire nation,” Fuentes said. “It starts here but we want to keep it going. Hopefully, the community will see what power they have and actually get involved even more.”

Officials at Columbus City Schools, which serves 47,000 students, said the new agreement puts children first.