LOS ANGELES—Teams from the Los Angeles Unified School District and the teachers union worked long hours this weekend to settle a teachers’ strike that has so far cost students five days of normal instruction.

The office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, which is mediating the talks, has been sending out the news of when the negotiating sessions start and stop. With both sides honoring a confidentiality agreement, that is just about the only information being released.

The long meetings could be seen as an indication of serious intent to settle, perhaps even a sign of progress. They also suggest the difficulty of reaching a settlement in time for teachers to return to classrooms Tuesday, after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The broad outlines of the bargaining are well known. L.A. Unified has wanted the talks to be as narrow as possible, focusing on salary and a few proposals from each side. The union has a longer list of demands, including an increased role in decision-making — and has framed its fight as a struggle to safeguard the future of public education.

Both sides have moved toward middle ground in the past two weeks. For example, the union has dropped a proposal for teachers to have more control over the amount of standardized testing of students.

The district has agreed to new hiring, a step in the direction of the union’s demand for “fully staffed” schools and smaller classes.

Class sizes are a good example of the complexity of the talks. The size of any given class varies by grade, by subject matter and even by type of program and funding source. The parties also must take into account the average size of classes and the minimum and maximum sizes that would be allowed.

With the possibility of a settlement soon, a new issue is emerging. Advocacy groups are worried that they won’t like the terms of the agreement. A coalition of community organizations sent a letter to both parties Saturday night, stressing that the interests of students need to remain front and center.

Concerns also are being raised by the union that represents principals, Associated Administrators of Los Angeles.

“We can probably agree that the time has come for the strike to be settled and for teachers to return to the classroom immediately, if not sooner!” read its latest newsletter. “And while AALA supports many of the righteous demands UTLA is making of the District, and we all know what they are, AALA by the same token is vehemently against UTLA’s proposals to castrate the little to almost no decision-making authority principals currently have.”

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