MARBLEHEAD - Striking teachers in Beverly, Gloucester and Marblehead, Massachusetts were back on the picket line Tuesday as schools remained closed in all three North Shore communities.

Massachusetts teacher strikes

Nearly 10,000 students in the three districts are waiting with their families for an end to the strikes, which started last Friday in Beverly and Gloucester and Monday in Marblehead.

"Yesterday there was a lot of back and forth. It felt really good," Beverly preschool paraprofessional Judy Martin told WBZ-TV Tuesday. "We're really confident. We just want a fair contract for everybody who works in this school system."

What do striking teachers want?

The teachers' unions want better pay for paraprofessionals and safer schools.

A judge ordered Gloucester and Beverly teachers to return to the classroom Tuesday. Their unions are now heading to court and could face fines because teacher strikes are illegal in Massachusetts.

"We want your kids in school but we also want to be able to be able to support them in the best way that we can and we don't feel like we're doing that," Martin said.

Contracts expired August 31

School leaders say the unions are colluding to draw out the negotiations. All three contracts expired on August 31.

In Marblehead, educators will hold a rally Tuesday afternoon calling for the district to reverse its decision to cancel school sports and events until the strike is over.

"We want to solve this. We want to be in our classrooms today. We don't want to be here," said Marblehead Veterans Middle School Teacher Jae Guttadauro.