Posted Monday, September 10, 2012 --- 9:35 a.m.
CHICAGO (AP) -- Parents and students are figuring out their options on the first day of a Chicago teachers' strike.
The district is keeping some schools open, and they're serving breakfast and lunch, but there's no instruction and it's only for a half-day.
At one high school, a handful of students trickled in as about two dozen teachers picketed outside. One 17-year-old said she only came to school because she didn't have anywhere else to go.
The teachers union decided to hit the picket lines after it and the school district said both sides remained too far apart in contract negotiations. The negotiations are expected to resume today. Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he will push to end the strike quickly.
Meanwhile, the school district is asking community organizations and church, libraries and other groups to help keep the 400,000 district students busy.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
