Giving Compass' Take:

· Jessica Campisi looks ahead to the potential for more teacher strikes and protests in 2019. It's been reported that educators are already planning events within the next month. 

· Lack of funding is one reason for the strikes around the country. Can philanthropists take on a role as advocate in their communities?

· Grantmakers for Education shares three ways donors can help support teachers.

The past year was a notable one for teacher activism, with six wide-scale protests and strikes in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma and West Virginia. These movements started over long-standing issues like a lack of education funding and a decline in teacher pay. And in some cases, along with bringing more attention and publicity to these problems, these efforts have had a demonstrated impact.

In West Virginia, for example, teachers' demonstrations led to a bill that moved to raise state employees' pay by 5%, and it's not the only place that's conceded to give teachers raises. Not every protest has spurred legislation or policy, but at the very least, this momentum has still converted to more public support for teacher pay increases.

There are some who say holding strikes and protests isn't the best way to go about bringing attention to these issues, in part due to the disruptive impact on students and the possibility that other educators and administrators could get caught in the conflict. However, many school leaders and education policy experts say there's a need for teachers and administrators to be advocates for their profession and the students they serve within it.

Read the full article about teacher protests in 2019 by Jessica Campisi at Education Dive.